Thimphu referral hospital detected the first case of dengue fever [of a local resident] in the capital in a 63-year-old woman. The woman was admitted to hospital on September 2 with fever and pain in the limbs.
[...]
Three patients with dengue died this year of the 12 cases the hospital treated, according to records from the in-patient department (IPD) at Thimphu hospital. [A] huge outbreak hit the southern region in 2004 with over 1,000 cases of mosquito related infections reported in Phuentsholing town, of which 116 patients had dengue.
A survey report of the health officials stated that most dengue mosquito and their larvae were found in household places, where water was stored for domestic use, around workshops with tyres lying around, bamboo stumps used in construction and in discarded containers like tins and coconut shells that held water.
“Unlike the nocturnal malaria transmitting mosquito, which breeds in dirty water, the dengue mosquito (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus) breeds in clean water and bites during the day,” said Wangchuk, [the district malaria supervisor in Phuentsholing].
[...]
To prevent dengue and its forms, health officials advise public to use insecticide treated bed nets, repellents, insecticide sprays, coils and vapourisers, screen windows and doors, wear full sleeved garments, reduce mosquito breeding sites by covering water buckets, pots and jars, and change water weekly by clearing the surroundings of discarded containers like tins and plastics.
Source: Phuntsho Choden & Passang Norbu, Kuensel Online, 09 Sep 2008
