Malaysia is seeing a higher death toll from dengue fever this year and the public must do more to fight the scourge, health officials said today.

The Health Ministry's director of disease control, Hasan Abdul Rahman, said 44 people had died in the first four months of 2007 from 16,214 cases reported, compared to 21 deaths and 10,244 cases in the same period last year.

"We are concerned over the increase and we need everyone to cooperate with the authorities to fight the menace," Hasan told the New Straits Times .

Construction sites are the main breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquito which carries the virus, he said.

"Contractors and land owners must cooperate in destroying breeding grounds," he said.

The ministry's deputy director-general, Ramlee Rahmat, said public complacency and ideal weather conditions for breeding the Aedes mosquito were contributing to the rise in cases.

"We would like people to be more vigilant and to do their part, especially in these types of conditions, where it rains one day and it's hot and dry for two or three days," Ramlee told AFP .

"These are good opportunities for mosquitoes to breed," he said.

Dengue is endemic to Malaysia, which has seen a rise of 16 percent in cases every year since 2003, according to the government.

Fatalities from dengue in Malaysia reached record levels in 2004, when 102 people died.