New | Dengue fever outbreak in Guangzhou worst in 10 years

Authorities in the southern province of Guangdong have pledged to improve efforts to control dengue fever, with around 5,000 cases reported so far this year.

According to the Guangzhou Daily, more than 1,000 cases had been reported in the provincial capital alone as of September 4 – the highest number in almost a decade.

“This year’s outbreak […] is the most serious in the past 10 years in Guangzhou,” Wang Ming, of the city’s disease prevention and control centre, told the Yangcheng Evening News.

The outbreak began at the start of summer, with more than 400 cases reported in Guangzhou between June and August, compared to around 100 cases in the whole of last year, and fewer than 20 in 2012. At least 12 patients are reportedly in a critical condition, and two people suffering from the disease have died.