PHNOM PENH: Cambodia reported 7,058 dengue fever cases in the first half of 2024, a year-on-year increase of about 10 per cent, a health official said on Tuesday (July 23).
Leang Rithea, National Dengue Control Program manager and deputy director of the National Center for Parasitology and Malaria Control, told Xinhua that in response to the dengue situation, the kingdom has prepared more than 160 tonnes of Abate and many liters of mosquito repellent to prevent a large-scale outbreak.
Abate is a chemical substance used to put in water pots to kill larvae.
"Parents should take their sick children to health centres or state hospitals within 48 hours if they suspect that their kids are infected with a dengue virus," he said.
He also urged people not to try to treat the disease by themselves.
Meanwhile, Rithea advised households to fill in puddles around their houses, saying that they are sources of mosquitoes.
Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted through the bite of an Aedes mosquito. The disease causes an acute illness with symptoms such as headache, high fever of up to 40 degrees Celsius, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands, vomiting and rash.
In the South-East Asian country, the peak of dengue epidemic period is in the rainy season from May to October. - Xinhua
