Cambodia reports big decrease in dengue in 2013
While much of the Asian continent saw larger than usual numbers of dengue fever cases in 2013, the Kingdom of Cambodia reported a 58 percent decrease in 2013 as compared to 2012, according to a French.people.com report Thursday (computer translated).
A female Aedes aegypti mosquito
Image/CDC
Cambodia reported 17,491 cases of dengue fever during the first eleven months of the year, a decrease of 58 % compared to the same period in 2012. In all of 2012, they reported 42,362 cases of dengue.
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This also resulted in a big decrease in dengue fatalities from 2012 to 2013. From January to November this year , 59 children died of dengue, against 183 in the same period in 2012, a decrease of 68% , said Dr. Char Meng Chuor , director of the National Center for Parasitology , Entomology and malaria control .
The decrease in dengue cases is attributed to better education efforts and the use of bed nets.
Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of four related dengue viruses. Thisdisease used to be called “break-bone fever” because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there may be 50–100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. However, new research from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Trust, using cartographic approaches, estimate there to be 390 million dengue infections per year worldwide.
There are three types of dengue fever in order of less severe to most: the typical uncomplicated dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHS) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).
There is not a vaccine for dengue fever. There is no treatment for dengue, just treat the symptoms.
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