Cambodian officials warn of widespread dengue in 2009
4/12/2008 16:24
Cambodian health officials have warned of a possible outbreak of dengue
fever next year as the number of children seeking treatment continues into the
disease's low season, state media reported today.
"Everyday, the hospital
still receives more than 20 children with dengue fever," Lam Eng Hour, deputy
director of Phnom Penh's Kantha Bopha children's hospital, was quoted by the
Phnom Penh Post as saying.
"We are worried this is a sign that the number (of
infections) will be higher next year," he added.
According to Lam Eng Hour,
Kantha Bopha hospitals in both Phnom Penh and Siem Reap have received 5,552
dengue cases so far this year, of which 43 have been fatal.
He said that
despite being a dramatic decrease from last year's 23,000 cases, children lining
up for dengue treatment this late in the year is a bad sign for 2009.
"An
outbreak can happen every two years," he said.
National statistics from
January to November this year showed that throughout the country 8,783 cases
have been recorded by national and Kntha Bopha hospitals, Ngan Chantha, the
national dengue control program director at the Ministry of Health, told the
Post.
Xinhua
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