PHNOM PENH, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia has seen 3,339 dengue fever cases in the first half of 2020, down 88 percent from 28,285 cases over the same period last year, Health Minister Mam Bunheng said on Wednesday.
The disease killed four children during the January-June period this year, remarkably down from 32 deaths over the same period last year, the minister said in a press release.
"The situation of dengue fever in Cambodia is in a normal stage and is well controlled by the National Anti-Dengue Fever Program," he said.
Meanwhile, Bunheng urged people to hurry and take their children to hospitals or health centers on suspected dengue fever.
He also called on households to fill in puddles around their houses as they are sources of mosquitoes, encouraging them to sleep under mosquito nets all the time.
The minister said the Ministry of Health will continue to distribute Abate (a chemical substance used to put in water pots to kill larvae) for free to households living in dengue fever-prone areas.
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 three to seven days, with severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, and rash.
The outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus usually begins in the rainy season from May to October. Enditem
