PRO/EDR> Dengue/DHF update 2008 (02) - Cambodia

Date: Sun 4 Jan 2008
Source: China View [edited]
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-01/04/content_7365534.htm >


A total of 407 Cambodian people died out of some [40 000] dengue
fever cases in 2007, which scored a 10 percent death rate, health
official Ngan Chantha said here on Friday [4 Jan 2008].

Kampong Cham province was the main place of dengue deaths because its
density of population was higher than other provinces, said the
official from the Health Ministry.

"The residents didn't clean the places around their houses and their
water tanks in a proper way, which caused tiger mosquitoes [_Aedes
albopictus_, although _Aedes aegypti_ doubtless is abundant there as
well. - Mod.TY] to transmit virus to people easily," he said. People
should pay more attention to their health care and sanitation, he said.

In 2007, the government spent about USD 3 million to contain the
epidemic, he said.

In addition, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the Asian
Development Bank and other non-governmental organizations contributed
money to carry out the campaign, he added.

--
Communicated by:
PRO/MBDS <promed-mbds@promedmail.org>

[In the last PRO/MBDS posting on dengue in Cambodia, there were
reports of more than 38 000 cases and 389 deaths (see Dengue -
Cambodia (06) 20071019.3413). The above newswires increase the total
burden caused by dengue virus in Cambodia during 2007 to almost 40
000 cases and 407 deaths.

According to background data available on the World Health
Organization (WHO), Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) website,
the outbreak in 2007 was the largest ever documented outbreak of
dengue in Cambodia. The prior major epidemic year was 1998, when
there were approximately 16 000 reported cases (see
<http://www.wpro.who.int/sites/mvp/epidemiology/dengue/cam_profile.htm >
or the WHO Global Health Atlas, DengueNet database
(<http://www.who.int/globalatlas/dataQuery/default.asp>),
where 16 216 cases are reported). While it is highly likely that the
increased number of reported cases is somewhat influenced by marked
improvements in disease surveillance activities in the country, an
almost 3-fold rise in reported cases is highly significant. In
addition, the 10 percent case fatality rate (CFR) reported in 2007
was the highest CFR reported since 1991, when the reported CFR was 9 percent.

According to the WHO Global Health Atlas, DengueNet database
< http://www.who.int/globalatlas/dataQuery/default.asp>,
all 4 dengue serotypes were isolated during 2007, with dengue virus
type 3 (DEN-3) being the most prevalent, followed by dengue type 2
(DEN-2), followed by types 1 (DEN-1) and 4 (DEN-4).

For a map of Cambodia with provinces, see
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/cambodia_pol_97.jpg >.

Kampong Cham province is located in the central portion of the
country, just north/northeast of Phnom Penh, bordering Viet Nam on
the east. - Mod.MPP]

[ProMED thanks PD Dr med vet FVH Christian Griot; MPA Unibern
Direktor, Institut fur Viruskrankheiten und Immunprophylaxe,
Switzerland for providing a similar report of dengue in Cambodia. - Mod.TY]