People urged to destroy mosquito breeding grounds as dengue claims 89 lives this year
Dengue fever has so far this year claimed 89 lives and affected 81,500 people in Thailand, the Department of Disease Control (DDC) said on Monday (September 9) as it called on members of the public to help destroy mosquito breeding grounds and also dispatched officials to fumigate several areas.
Dr Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai, DDC director general, said dengue infections have lowered in provinces like Nakhon Nayok, Trat, Prachin Buri, Amnat Charoen, Beung Kan and Chumphon thanks to prevention and control measures as well as people’s cooperation in suppressing the propagation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries the dengue virus.
Suwannachai, citing DDC's latest report showing that 81,500 people had been infected by dengue fever and 89 had died from January 1 to September 3, said most of the patients were small children, youths and young adults.
He said people should immediately seek medical attention if they develop flu-like symptoms such as high fever that does not come down in a day or two, headache, pain behind the eyes, muscle and joint pain as well as a skin rash that appears two to five days after the onset of the fever. He has also cautioned people against taking aspirin and ibuprofen as they can increase the risk of bleeding.