SHENZHEN had confirmed 21 cases of dengue fever as of Saturday, three of which were found in Haihua Community in Bao’an District, the city’s center for disease control and prevention (CDC) said Sunday.
Among the 21 cases, 12 were imported from other places, CDC officials said. Eight cases were found in Bao’an while seven were in Nanshan District. Futian and Longgang districts each had two dengue fever cases. Luohu District and Guangming New Area each had one case.
Three cases were found simultaneously in Haihua Community on Thursday, making it the first intensive outbreak of the disease.
Breteau Index is an indicator of risks for dengue transmission. If the Breteau Index in an area is below 5, the area is safe. But if the index is above 20, it means that the area has a high possibility of dengue fever outbreak once dengue fever cases are imported.
Except for Yantian District and Longhua New Area, the city’s other eight districts and new areas all have a Breteau Index higher than 5. With a Breteau Index of 20, Dapeng New Area is at the highest risk of dengue transmission.
The number of dengue fever cases in Guangdong Province has exceeded 10,000, according to local health authorities. Guangzhou reported 9,055 cases, Foshan City reported 1,123 cases and Zhongshan City reported 192 cases.
Health experts said the key to preventing the disease is to guard against mosquitoes.
Dengue fever, a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes, mostly hits tropical and subtropical regions. The symptoms include high fever, nausea, rashes, backache and headache. The hemorrhagic variant, which causes severe internal bleeding as blood vessels collapse, is often fatal.
(Zhang Yang)
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