Buri Ram issues dengue alert amid worsening situation
The Buri Ram chief public health officer has warned local residents to take urgent measures after a three fold increase in the number of people falling victim to the dengue virus compared to last year.
Dr Withit Sarittheechaikul, the chief public health officer of Buri Ram, said from January to the end of July, a total of 1,742 people had been infected by the dengue virus and a patient in Lahan Sai district had died.
He said most of the patients were between five to nine years old. Most patients were found in the Muang, Krasang, Nang Rong, Nong Ki and Prakhon Chai districts.
The figure was three times higher than the number of dengue patients in the province in the same period last year.
The public health chief said more people would be vulnerable during the rainy season so the Buri Ram Public Health Office had instructed district officials of the office in 23 districts to cooperate with community leaders and locals to carry out awareness campaigns about the disease.
The campaigns encouraged the local people to prevent the breeding of mosquito larvae by putting chemicals in still water and eliminating small water retention areas. Local officials were also dispatched to spray mosquito repellents to minimise the outbreak, Withit said.
Locals were advised to rush family members with high fever and shivering symptoms to doctors for urgent diagnosis, Withit added.