Cambodia reports 3,051 dengue fever cases, killing 18 kids in 5 months

June 8, 2013
Xinhua

At least 18 Cambodian children died of dengue fever in the first five months of this year, a 36 percent drop from 28 deaths over the same period last year, according to a report of the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control on Saturday.

During the January-May period this year, some 3,051 dengue fever cases were reported, down 50 percent from 6,077 cases over the same period last year, the report said.

"Seventy-one percent of the patients are children aged between 5-14," Dr. Char Meng Chuor, director of the center, said in the report.

Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. The disease causes an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows symptoms such as headache, fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands, vomiting and rash.

"I'd like to urge all parents and students to kill larvae by using the chemical substance known as Abate in water pots and other still water sources," he said. "Moreover, people should sleep under mosquito nets."

The outbreak of dengue fever usually begins at the onset of the rainy season in May and lasts until October.

Last year, the country recorded 42,362 dengue fever cases, which claimed the lives of 189 kids.