Deadly dengue strain to dominate

NST: A more virulent and deadly strain of dengue is set to take its toll on Malaysians next year.
Den-2, a dengue virus serotype, has infected a few Malaysians since the start of the year.
University Malaya Medical Centre medical microbiology head Prof Dr Suzaly Abu Bakar said the Den-2 virus was making its presence felt.
"Although there is also the Den-3 virus, it will be the Den-2 which will be predominant next year.
"Malaysians must protect themselves against the Aedes mosquitoes. Search and destroy all breeding grounds," Dr Suzaly said.
Those with the highest risk of getting the disease are the obese, diabetic, aged 60 years and older, and children below one.
Dr Suzaly said the most challenging area for doctors was to treat women in their late pregnancies.
"There is no drug to treat them," he said, adding that Malaysia should work towards developing an anti-viral drug and an anti-dengue drug rather than vaccines.
He was unsure, however, whether it would work for nations like Malaysia where dengue was endemic as the viruses could mutate and there were sub-strains.
"Those creating the vaccines should take into consideration all the pitfalls," he said.
He said two major Den-2 outbreaks in the 1990s were the result of a slight mutation of the virus.
In Malaysia, he said, the Den-2 virus was different from that prevalent in Thailand.
"We need to find out if the virus is in Thailand and how severe and virulent it is," he said.
Den-4 used to be a predominant virus in the 1960s and 1970s but is now disappearing.