HAVANA, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Health authorities from the Dominican Republic reported a total of 4,000 cases of dengue in the country on Tuesday, the death toll having reached 28 to date.

    This dengue outbreak has hospitalized 30 infected children since last weekend, according to information reaching here from Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic.

    Dominican Republic's Health Minister Bautista Rojas said "without the aid of the people and the mayoralties, it is impossible to control the (dengue) outbreak."

    Rojas urged public efforts to stop the proliferation of the "Aedes aegypti" mosquito, carrier of the dengue, by removing water deposits, which serve as breeding places for the mosquitoes.

    Due to the increase of infections, the government has declared an epidemic maximum alert on Oct. 19.