Two children died from dengue fever and around 100 have been stricken with the mosquito-born virus in Kandal province’s Khsach Kandal district following an outbreak that has stunned local doctors and commune officials.
Vihear Sour commune councilor Yem Yoan said that a 1-year-old girl died from the fever at her home Monday, while a 5-year-old girl died en route to a hospital in Phnom Penh the same day.
“This is the fastest outbreak ever in this commune,” he said Tuesday, adding that much of the commune is flooded and serves as a prime breeding ground for tiger mosquitoes, which carry dengue.
Mon Sopheap, aunt to the 5-year-old girl, said that the girl’s 2-year-old sister, who also has dengue, is at Phnom Penh’s National Pediatric Hospital. She added that her 5-year-old nephew has also fallen ill with the fever. “It is unbelievable, every child in the family is getting dengue,” she said.
Yem Yoan said that the supply of abate—a chemical that kills mosquito larvae—has run out in his commune.
An Say, a physician at a private clinic in Vihear Sour commune, said that most of the 100 infected children have been sent to Phnom Penh’s Kantha Bopha hospital for treatment. “There was a serious outbreak earlier this month,” he said.
New cases are still occurring, but the infection rate has slowed, he added.
An Say said that dengue outbreaks usually occur after heavy rainfalls and coincide with the rice-planting season, when parents are busy in their rice fields. “Some villagers are too busy to take care of their children,” he said.
Health Minister Nuth Sokhom said cases of dengue fever have increased this year and that he has instructed health officials to go to sites of reported outbreaks around the country to intervene.
“Education is necessary for people now,” he said, adding that villagers must learn how to prevent dengue as well as how to treat it.
