AUTHOR=Md Iderus Nuur Hafizah , Singh Sarbhan Singh Lakha , Ghazali Sumarni Mohd , Zulkifli Asrul Anuar , Ghazali Nur Ain Mohd , Lim Mei Cheng , Ahmad Lonny Chen Rong Qi , Md Nadzri Mohamad Nadzmi , Tan Cia Vei , Md Zamri Ahmed Syahmi Syafiq , Lai Chee Herng , Nordin Nur Shuhada , Kamarudin Mohd Kamarulariffin , Wan Ming Keong , Mokhtar Norhayati , Jelip Jenarun , Gill Balvinder Singh , Ahmad Nur Ar Rabiah 

TITLE=The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on dengue cases in Malaysia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 11 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1213514

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2023.1213514

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=Background. Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the transmission dynamics and distribution of dengue. Therefore, this study aims to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the geographic and demographic distribution of dengue incidence in Malaysia.Methods. This study analysed dengue cases from January 2014 to December 2021 and COVID-19 confirmed cases from January 2020 to December 2021 which was divided into the pre (2014 to 2019) and during COVID-19 pandemic (2020 to 2021) phases. The average annual dengue case incidence for geographical and demographic subgroups were calculated and compared between the pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic phases. In addition, Spearman rank correlation was performed to determine the correlation between weekly dengue and COVID-19 cases during the COVID-19 pandemic phase.Results. Dengue trends in Malaysia showed a 4-year cyclical trend with dengue case incidence peaking in 2015 and 2019 and subsequently decreasing in the following years. Reductions of 44.0% in average dengue cases during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic phase was observed at the national level. Higher dengue cases were reported among males, individuals aged 20-34 years, and Malaysians across both phases. Weekly dengue cases were significantly correlated (ρ=-0.901) with COVID-19 cases during the COVID-19 pandemic.Conclusion. There were reductions in dengue incidence and distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic phase compared to pre-pandemic phases in Malaysia. However, there were no significant differences in distribution across the demographic sub-group across both phases.