Laos records 1,760 dengue fever cases till May

Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 11:47:04|Editor: An
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VIENTIANE, June 7 (Xinhua) -- A total of 1,760 dengue fever infections, with three deaths, were recorded in Laos from January to the end of May this year, local daily Vientiane Times reported Wednesday.

Dengue fever infections have been recorded in the Lao capital city of Vientiane at a higher rate than other provinces in the country.

There have been 332 dengue fever cases and one death reported, while during the same period in 2016 there was no report of any outbreak, a health expert said at a meeting here Tuesday.

Lao health experts met to discuss interventions undertaken in the fight against dengue fever following a confirmed death in Vientiane in May. The meeting heard that the female victim started feeling ill on May 19; she received treatment at hospital on May 22 but died on May 24.

Head of Epidemiology Division under the Vientiane Health Department Chanthalay Sayavong told media the purpose of the meeting was to review the case of the woman's death from dengue fever and to prevent a future pandemic in the country.

He admitted health authorities were concerned about the case because it was the year's first death recorded in the capital. Chanthalay said the woman died of severe dengue hemorrhage.

"We have evaluated this fatal case and the prevalence of dengue fever is higher this year compared to the same period in 2016," he said. During the same period last year there were 249 dengue fever cases across the country.

According to Lao Ministry of Health, reported cases are slightly higher than the 1,716 cases reported for 2014 but lower compared to the same period in the epidemic years of 2010 and 2013.

2013 was particularly challenging with 15 out of 17 provinces reporting dengue at alarming epidemic levels and a total of 95 deaths from a total of 44,171 reported dengue cases.

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