Dengue cases double in Phuket

[Nicke]

PHUKET, May 24 (TNA) – Thailand's southern island resort of Phuket today launched a concerted campaign to destroy mosquitoes responsible for spreading dengue fever after a discovery of a two-fold rise in the number of dengue cases since last year.

Led by Deputy Phuket Governor Suphachai Yuwaboon and the chief provincial public health official, the campaign kicked off this morning with pleas to the public to help in the fight against the ade aegypti mosquito.

Members of the public taking part in the launch held banners stating their commitment to destroying mosquito larvae, which were paraded around the town.

According to Dr. Wanchai Satyawuthiphong, the island province’s chief public health official, there are currently 68 confirmed cases of dengue fever on the island, with another 340 patients waiting diagnosis.

Phuket has the ninth highest number of dengue cases in the country, and more than double the number it had last year.

However, the chief public health officer stressed that no-one had yet died of the condition, which has become a matter of national concern this year. (TNA)