The Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported another 1,400 dengue fever cases on Sunday, bringing the outbreak total in the South China province to over 21,000.
The 20 cities in Guangdong had reported 21,527 cases of dengue fever with the bulk reported from the capital of Guangzhou (18,192). In addition, nearly 2,000 cases have been reported from Foshan City.
The death toll from the largest dengue outbreak in the region in years increased by two, bringing that total to six.
Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of four related dengue viruses. Thisdisease used to be called “break-bone fever” because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there may be 50–100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. However, new research from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Trust, using cartographic approaches, estimate there to be 390 million dengue infections per year worldwide.
There are three types of dengue fever in order of less severe to most: the typical uncomplicated dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHS) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).
There is not a vaccine for dengue fever. There is no treatment for dengue, just treat the symptoms. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
