| ■ Major Dengue Fever Outbreak Hits Asia | 2007.08.06 |
| An outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue fever in Asia could prove the worst to hit the region in nearly a decade, says the World Health Organization. The disease is erupting in a number of countries. In Cambodia, nearly 25,000 people have been diagnosed with dengue fever (about three times the number of cases for all of 2005) and nearly 300 children have died, the Associated Press reported. In Indonesia, more than 100,000 cases of dengue fever and 1,100 deaths have been reported this year. In Malaysia, more than 1,000 dengue fever patients have been admitted to hospitals every week for the past month. Vietnam has reported more than 33,000 cases and 32 deaths so far this year. In 1998, there were about 350,000 cases of the disease and nearly 1,500 deaths in Southeast Asia, the AP reported. The current outbreak could reach similar levels, said John Ehrenberg, WHO's regional adviser on vector-borne diseases. There are no vaccines or cures for the four different types of dengue fever, which causes high fever, joint pain, nausea, rashes, and severe headache. |