Disease deaths

OFFICIALS in Malaysia have closed parks and warned the public about swimming and dumping rubbish in rivers after up to 10 people died from a disease spread by rats.

The latest reported death from the bacterial disease leptospirosis was on Saturday.

A 17-year-old boy in northern Kedah state had swum in a river and had a picnic with friends at a recreational park last month, the New Straits Times and The Star reported.

The disease killed 62 people last year, up from 20 in 2004. In the same period, the number of infections rose more than fivefold to more than 1,400 cases, up from 263.