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Cambodia sees surge in dengue fever cases in 8 months of 2015

Xinhua, September 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

Cambodia has reported 7,799 dengue fever cases in the first eight months of this year, a 250 percent rise from the 2,227 cases over the same period last year, a health official said on Thursday.

"We see a significant increase in dengue fever cases in this year's rainy season, but the surge is at a controllable level," Huy Rekol, director of the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, said in a report posted on the center's website.

"The incident rate is 48.2 cases out of 100,000 people."

He said over 80 percent of the total cases recorded in eight cities and provinces, Phnom Penh, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Kampong Speu, Prey Veng, Kandal, Siem Reap and Banteay Meanchey, out of the kingdom's 25 cities and provinces.

The disease killed 24 children during the January-August period this year, 9 higher than the death number over the same period last year, he added.

Rekol said more than 71 percent of the patients were children aged between 5 and 14 years old.

Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted through the bite of an Aedes mosquito which is a day-biting mosquito. Its symptoms include sudden onset of high fever which can last from 3 to 7 days, severe headache, muscle and joint pain, vomiting, and rash.

In Cambodia, the outbreak of the disease usually begins in rainy season from May to October. Endi