Cambodia recorded 8,828 dengue fever cases in more than five months of this year, an increase of 248 percent from 2,534 cases at the same period last year, the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control released a report on Tuesday.
From January to mid-June 2012, the disease killed 38 children, up from 12 deaths at the same period last year, the report showed.
Dr. Char Meng Chuor, director of the center, said Tuesday that the disease burst out in a large scale once in every five years, recalling that in 2007, a large scale outbreak killed up to 407 children.
"It can be a large scale outbreak this year," he said, adding that to prevent it, the center has been distributing some 270 tones of Abate (a chemical substance used to kill larvae in water pots) to households.
He also urged people to sleep under mosquito nets and keep clean environment around their houses to prevent the disease.
Dengue is caused by mosquitoes. The disease causes an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows symptoms such as headache, fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands and rash.
In Cambodia, the outbreak of dengue fever usually begins at the onset of the rainy season in May and lasts until October.
Last year, the country reported 15,980 dengue fever cases, killing 73 children.
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