In the Malay patient group a 2.3 fold rise in HLA-B*40 (P = 0.24, 0R = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.09–1.73), B*37and B*46 (P = 0.582, 0R = 0.419, 95% CI = 0.06–3.14) alleles were detected in DF patients compared to controls. Here, HLA-B is linked to dengue disease.