The spread of dengue fever has decreased this year, following a heavy outbreak of the disease in 2007's rainy season, a doctor said Sunday.
Meanwhile the Ministry of Health's dengue and malaria center will host a meeting in Kampong Cham province Thursday to discuss environmental changes and their impact on the mosquito-borne illnesses.
"From earlier this year until now, when the disease maintained its peak spread, some 1,050 children were hospitalized, and 13 died," said Dr. Ngan Chantha, deputy director of the National Malaria Center. "The recent rate of dengue fever has gone down by three to four times that of last year."
The government has distributed across eight provinces 50 tons of Abate, a chemical added to open water containers to kill mosquito larvae.
With time and proper treatment, dengue patients can be saved, Ngan Chantha said, but sometimes they arrive at the hospital late, having received improper treatment at private clinics.
