Parents urged to beware of dengue fever in children

BANGKOK, October 25 (TNA) - The Thai Ministry of Public Health has urged parents to beware of dengue fever and to take a close care of their young children, as the number of dengue fever patients in the country has reached over 52,000 so far this year, 50 of them have died. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Dr. Pornthep Siriwanarangsan, Director-General of the ministry's Department of Disease Control, suggested that parents immediately take their children to see doctors if they are suspected of contracting the dengue virus, shown by having persistent high fever of over 37.5 degree Celsius, vomiting, consuming less food, having red rashes on their faces and suffering body pains. According to official statistics, there had been 52,008 dengue fever patients, or 81.42 cases in every 100,000 Thai population, from January 1-October 16, 2012, 50 of them have died. The official figures showed that most of dengue fever patients during the period were recorded in Thailand's central region at 20,600 cases, followed by 14,347 patients in Thai Northeast, 9,076 in the Thai North and 7,985 patients in the Thai South. (TNA)