IN the abandoned construction sites, unused swimming pools and old car tyres strewn across Southeast Asia's capitals, a potential killer is being hatched - dengue fever.
Spread by the aegypti strain of the Aedes mosquito, the mysterious dengue virus has long been misunderstood and is frequently under-rated by doctors, medical professionals and scientists say.
This year, it is getting its revenge as it sweeps across the region, raising fears of a new epidemic and adding to the pressures of the regional crisis.
In Jakarta, teams of fumigators are combing inner-city streets in a desperate bid to stop to the spread of a disease that has filled hospitals and already killed 429 people nationwide this year alone.
In Bangkok, health authorities are warning that 300,000 people could be affected this year - the worst figures in four decades.
Cases have surged in Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia. Burma, Vietnam, Laos and the Philippines are bracing for trouble.