Cases of dengue fever on the rise in Thailand

by Pierre To 11 June 2023

By Pierre To 11 June 2023 2 minutes to read

Cases of dengue fever on the rise in Thailand

Aedes albopictus: the mosquito that transmits dengue fever

Cases of dengue fever are on the rise in Thailand, and not just among children: more and more elderly people are becoming infected.

According to Dr Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, Director General of the Department of Medical Services, 18,000 elderly people contracted the disease in the first five months of the year.

He said that the change in weather conditions brought about by the El Niño phenomenon will increase cases of dengue fever, which can persist for more than two years, while stressing the need for research, treatment and prevention to contain the disease and protect lives.

According to the Department of Disease Control, 15 deaths were reported out of the 18,173 cases of dengue fever recorded in the first five months of the year.

6,088 cases were in the 5-14 age group and 4,247 in the 15-24 age group.

Most cases have been reported in the provinces of Trat, Nan, Chanthaburi, Mae Hong Son and Rayong.

Dr Thongchai advised people who think they may have contracted dengue fever to consult a doctor immediately and to avoid taking aspirin, ibuprofen or diclofenac, which can cause internal bleeding.

There is a natural solution to dengue fever, but of course you should always consult a doctor first.

See : Dengue can be treated with papaya leaf juice!

In Phichit province, public health volunteers from the Pak Thang sub-district have played a key role in ensuring that villages in the sub-district have been free of dengue fever for three consecutive years.

Since the great flood of 2011, the measure used by the volunteers has been to involve the villagers in a campaign to get rid of the larvae in their homes.

If larvae are found in a house, the owner will have to pay a fine of two baht for each container containing larvae.

The money raised goes into the village development fund.

A green flag is displayed in front of houses free of larvae and a red flag in front of those containing them.

Health volunteers will be fined twice as much if larvae are found in their homes, while the village chief and sub-district chief will be fined four times as much.