March 18, 2013BANGKOK (Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa)) -- The number of dengue fever cases in Thailand so far this year has surpassed 13,000, a four-fold increase from the same period last year, media reports said Sunday.
As of March 11, a total of 13,200 dengue cases had been diagnosed, with 16 fatalities, according to the Public Health Ministry.
Nation Multimedia quoted ministry sources as saying the number of victims and the number of fatal cases were both four times higher than during the same period last year.
Cases were reported in all 77 Thai provinces.
Dengue fever is a virus-caused tropical disease spread by mosquitoes, with symptoms including high fever, headache and muscle and joint pain.
Ministry officials said they had set up a war room to monitor the situation and devise measures to contain the disease.
They said they feared the number of cases could increase further during the upcoming rainy season.
Copyright 2013 dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH
