PHNOM PENH, Jan 4 (NNN-AKP) – Cambodia reported 12,500 dengue fever cases in 2022, a significant increase from 1,811 cases in 2021, a health official said today.
Leang Rithea, deputy director of the National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, at the Ministry of Health, said, the rise of dengue fever cases last year was connected to inclement weather, and heavy and intermittent rain throughout the year across the country.
“The disease claimed 19 children’s lives in 2022, up from only eight deaths recorded in 2021,” he said.
Despite the increase, the country had brought the situation under control, by working with relevant stakeholders and local authorities, he added.
Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted through the bite of an Aedes mosquito, which is a day-biting mosquito.
Rithea said, the centre would continue distributing the anti-dengue mosquito larvicide Abate, to households living in dengue fever-prone areas.
Dengue fever causes an acute illness that usually follows symptoms such as headache, high fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands, vomiting and rash.
In Cambodia, the peak of dengue epidemic period is during the rainy season, from May to Oct.– NNN-AKP
