Ten children die of dengue in north-western Burma

by Salai Pi Pi

Friday, 17 July 2009 19:15

New Delhi (Mizzima) – At least 10 children have died and several are ill after being afflicted by Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease, in Kalemyo a town near the Indo-Burma border in Sagaing Division, north-western Burma, an official at a private clinic said. “As far as I know at least 10 children have died. A lot of other children are admitted in the hospital, which is crowded with patients,” the official in Thapyaynyo clinic in Kalemyo said. When contacted, an official at the Kalemyo General Hospital on Friday said, the ‘Patient Ward’ of the hospital is full of children being treated for Dengue haemorrhagic fever. The outbreak of Dengue was noticed in Kalemyo in the beginning of June and has been continuing since. A local resident of Kalemyo told Mizzima that most of the children in her neighborhood are suffering from the disease. While many have been taken to hospital several others are depending on private clinics. Dengue in Kalemyo, a town located on the border of Chin state in western Burma, is common during the monsoons. Local residents said, despite being a curable disease, Malaria and Typhoid continue to claim several lives every year. < Prev   Next >