Thailand hits record numbers in dengue fever outbreak
Thailand is fighting its worst outbreak of mosquito-borne dengue fever in 20 years, with the tropical disease taking a far heavier toll on the population than the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Southeast Asian nation has seen a record number of more than 136,000 cases and 126 fatalities from the disease which causes flu-like symptoms, including a fever, piercing headaches, muscle and joint pains and body rashes.
The surge in cases has eclipsed Thailand's coronavirus outbreak. The country has been a rare success story and so far has reported just 3,480 infections and 58 deaths.
The highest concentration of dengue patients are located in and around the capital, Bangkok, and in the northern province of Chiang Mai.
Thailand’s health ministry recorded its worst ever dengue epidemic in 1987, when there were more than 174,000 infections and 1,007 deaths. Experts have warned that the case count could rise to up to 200,000 cases this year.
Health officials have said that unseasonably wet and warm weather due to climate change has heightened the problem as it creates more conducive conditions for the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries and spreads the virus.
In 2019, the World Health Organization declared dengue one of the top 10 global health threats because of its spread and the absence of effective interventions. There is no approved vaccine or specific drug treatment for patients and the main way to curb the spread is through fumigation and information campaigns.
About half the world's population is at risk from the disease, mostly in the developing world, but an increase of incidences in parts of southern Europe and the southern United States have also been attributed to climate change as mosquitoes move northwards.
In Asia, severe cases of dengue have become a leading cause of death among children.
Last year, British travellers were warned to take precautions in Southeast Asia in particular after the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Singapore and Sri Lanka all reported a significant increase in cases.
This year, Indonesia has also been hit by an unusually high spike of dengue infections.
However, in a rare piece of good news, a rare study was released last month revealing that infecting infecting mosquitoes with a naturally occurring bacteria can drastically reduce the transmission of the killer disease.
The results of the 27-month trial in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta by the World Mosquito Programme cut incidence rates by 77 per cent.
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