Anne Zhang

    zhangy49@gmail.com

    SHENZHEN has confirmed 13 cases of dengue fever as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, eight of which have been cured and discharged from the hospital, the city’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday.

    Among the cases, 11 were imported from other places, including Guangzhou, Thailand, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and India.

    There have been no deaths or cases with serious symptoms, said Xie Xu, head of the CDC’s infectious diseases prevention department.

    Xie said eight patients have recovered, but the other five are still in the hospital.

    Dengue fever, a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes, mostly hits tropical and subtropical regions. Symptoms include high fevers, nausea, rashes, backaches and headaches.

    Xie said people who suffer from these symptoms must get treatment at hospital and report their travel history in the past half month to doctors.

    Health experts would like to remind National Day holiday travelers to Southeast Asian countries to take extra precautions against mosquitoes.

    The city is taking measures to eradicate mosquitoes and remove puddle water.

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    Local residents should remove standing water at home and renew water for aquatic plants more frequently.

    The CDC said the number of dengue cases may keep going up in the next two months because it is still hot and humid in the city, providing a favorable environment for mosquitoes to breed.

    In addition, the upcoming National Day holiday may bring more visitors to Shenzhen from areas that are seriously infected with the disease.