Thailand remains on alert against dengue fever

BANGKOK, November 10 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Public Health remains on alert against dengue fever, as there have been over 100,000 dengue fever patients reported nationwide since the beginning of this year, 102 of them have died. Dr. Sopon Mekthon, Permanent Secretary for Public Health, told journalists of the information on Tuesday, elaborating that official statistics compiled by his ministry's Department of Disease Control showed that a total of 102,762 patients suffered from dengue fever nationwide during January 1-November 2, most of whom were found at ages 5-14. Dr. Sopon pointed out that downpours have continued in several Thai areas with rainwater stored on grounds and broken materials, becoming breeding grounds for stripped mosquitoes, the carrier of dengue fever. Dr. Sopon revealed that provincial health offices have, thus, been ordered to work closely with the Department of Disease Control on providing the public with information on how to properly protect themselves from dengue fever, while responsible authorities have also been instructed to regularly destroy stripped mosquito breeding grounds to prevent more outbreak of the deadly disease. (TNA)