Cambodia records 1,500 dengue fever cases

At least 1,500 dengue fever cases were reported in Cambodia in the first three months of this year, a 10 percent rise from 1,365 cases in the same period last year, a health official said Thursday. Of the figures, the disease killed 8 children during the January-March period this year -- the same number of deaths at the same period last year, Dr. Ngan Chantha, director of the Health Ministry's national dengue control program, said. Most patients are children, aged between 5 and 14 years old. Meanwhile, he urged people to sleep in mosquito nets and keep a clean environment around their houses to prevent the disease. "Dengue fever is caused by Aedes mosquitoes. To prevent the infection, I'd like to appeal to all parents and guardians to kill larvae by using Abate (a chemical substance used to kill larvae in water pots) and by filling in puddles around houses, which are sources of mosquitoes," Xinhua quoted Dr. Chantha as saying. 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. In Cambodia, the disease outbreak usually begins from the rainy season in May and lasts until October. Last year, the country recorded 42,362 dengue fever cases, killing 189 children.