In disclosing this to FMT, haematologist Dr Bahariah Khalid said while the intention was to protect the privacy of dengue patients, it made it challenging for medical experts to find solutions to the dengue problem.

She said the government did not disclose information of dengue patients or deaths to the public as it used the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 to classify such information.

“We need the data from dengue patients to come up with solutions.

“Malaysia has the expertise, experience and facilities, but we cannot identify the trends and evolution of dengue due to the protection of data.”

Dr Bahariah said there was so much about the virus that needed research and monitoring by experts and such stumbling blocks made it difficult for experts to research the virus comprehensively.

She also hoped the World Health Organisation (WHO) would make Malaysia a case study in their efforts to tackle the issue at a global level.

“In fact, the WHO is also hoping for more research to come from Malaysia, but issues like this lack of data is disappointing, especially for those of us who want to overcome the problem.”

Meanwhile, Penang’s Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, Rural Development and Health exco Dr Afif Bahardin confirmed Bahariah’s claim, adding that authorities could not simply reveal such information unless they obtained permission from the family.

According to a Health Ministry report, 602 people died of dengue between January 2014 and February 2016.

The Health Ministry also revealed that during this period, 252,052 dengue cases were recorded.

Health Minister Dr S Subramaniam yesterday said the dengue situation had worsened with 26,533 cases reported during the first two months of this year, compared with 25,028 cases over the same period last year – an increase of more than 1,500 cases.