Dengue: Malaysia and Philippines still raise alarm in experienced region:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Outbreaks of dengue fever in Malaysia and the Philippines have raised concern due to the unusually high number of cases, appearing to confirm fears expressed by the WHO last week over trends for 2007 (full report tomorrow). Malaysia recorded 4,100 cases in January (including 13 deaths), according to Taiwan's Centre for Disease Control (CDC); the total in 2006 was 34,400, with 70 deaths. Philippine health officials, meanwhile, expressed alarm at the high rates recorded last month, confirming 189 (and four deaths) at one hospital (San Lazaro) alone. Elsewhere, Singapore reported almost 280 cases, compared to just over 3,000 in 2006; in China (3,500 in 2006), Taiwan and Hong Kong have had 87 and two cases, respectively.