A health official disclosed on Thursday that Cambodia recorded 4,668 dengue fever cases in the first half of 2023, a remarkable rise of 62.7 percent over 2,869 cases during the same period last year.
Another factor, according to the source, is that the condition often advances cyclically every five years. He noted that the most recent significant epidemic, which resulted in more than 60,000 dengue illnesses and more than 40 fatalities, occurred in 2019.
According to Leang Rithea, manager of the National Dengue Programme and deputy director of the National Centre for Parasitology and Malaria Control, "the disease took 10 lives during the January-June period this year, a rise from seven deaths in the same period a year ago."
According to him, the provinces of Kandal, Tboung Khmum, Banteay Meanchey, and Siem Reap had the highest dengue case counts, followed by Phnom Penh.
"Mosquitoes, the main source of dengue virus transmission, use stagnant water as a breeding site. People increase the chance of dengue transmission by failing to replace or clean the water, creating the perfect conditions for mosquito reproduction, the expert added.
The possibility of a dengue epidemic this year and even in the next two years is fairly high, according to Rithea, given we are now in the fourth year after the previous outbreak. "All sectors must participate if we are to lessen the effects of a potential dengue outbreak in Cambodia."
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