ASIA/CAMBODIA - Rains increase dengue in Cambodia by 50%; pest control campaign starts early

Phnom Penh (Agenzia Fides) – The early commencement of the rainy season in Cambodia has caused, in the last four months of 2009, a 50% increase in dengue cases in comparison to last year at the same time.
Since the start of the year, 871 cases have been registered, nearly double in comparison with 2008. At least two people have died from the disease.
The child population is more exposed to dengue and are among 71% of the cases.
However, according to statistics from the local Health Department, this number is far from that of 2007, when 39,851 Cambodians caught the fever and it led to the deaths of 401 children.
The rain has favored the spread of breeding grounds that reproduce the mosquitos that carry the disease and that take advantage of stagnant waters in any place to lay their eggs.
The government is taking great measures, in Phnom Penh and in other urban areas and they are working on pest control in the rural areas. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 22/5/2009)