Epidemic levels, but fewer dengue deaths

A two-year-old child suffering from dengue fever is held by her mother outside a hospital in Kandal province, in 2008. Photograph: Reuters

Tuesday, 04 September 2012
Justine Drennan
The Phnom Penh Post

Although dengue fever cases have reached epidemic levels this year, 2012’s bout has been less fatal than previous years and is on the decline due to seasonal patterns and growing immunity, World Health Organization officials said at a press meeting yesterday.

“It certainly fulfils all the criteria [for an epidemic] this year, but although there have been many more cases, they’ve not been as serious, with not as many deaths,” said Dr Nima Asgari, team leader in the WHO in Cambodia’s emerging diseases surveillance and response unit.

The decrease in deaths was largely due to better education about dengue treatment and prevention, and particularly to public hospitals – which often used to rehydrate patients to the point of drowning them – becoming more aware of the need to adjust fluid dosage to individual patients’ needs, Asgari said.

Mix of pathogens caused mystery illness in Cambodia, doctors say

 

http://cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2012/07/11/bpr-gupta-cambodia-mystery-disease.cnn 

July 11, 2012 By Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Danielle Dellorto, CNN

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Doctors say the inappropriate use of steroids worsened many cases
• No new cases of the condition have been confirmed since last Saturday
• The pathogens include enterovirus 71, streptococcus suis and dengue
• Most of the patients have come from southern Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Cambodia (CNN) -- The World Health Organization, in conjunction with the Cambodian Ministry of Health, will conclude that a combination of pathogens is to blame for the mysterious illness that has claimed the lives of more than 60 children in Cambodia, medical doctors familiar with the investigation told CNN on Wednesday.

The pathogens include enterovirus 71, streptococcus suis and dengue, the medical sources said. Additionally, the inappropriate use of steroids, which can suppress the immune system, worsened the illness in a majority of the patients, they said.

The sources did not want to be identified because the results of the health organization's investigation have not yet been made public.

Dr. Beat Richner, head of Kantha Bopha Children's Hospitals -- which cared for 66 patients affected by the illness, 64 of whom died -- said that no new cases had been confirmed since last Saturday.

Dengue fever kills 38 Cambodian children in over 5 months

Xinhua | 2012-6-26

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.

Dengue vaccine in sight

A child suffering from dengue fever lies on a bed at the Kantha Bopha hospital in Phnom Penh. Dengue causes fever, headaches and agonising muscle and joint pains. Photograph: Reuters

Thursday, 07 June 2012
Ben Hirschler/Reuters

One of the grimmest legacies of the war in the Pacific is still being fought 70 years on, but a victory over dengue, the intensely painful “breakbone fever” that conflict helped spread around the world, may be in sight.

Paris-based drug company Sanofi hopes for positive results in September from a key trial among children in Thailand that would set it on course to market a shot in 2015 that would prevent an estimated 100 million cases of dengue infection each year. Of the 20,000 who die annually, many are children.

For Sanofi, which has invested 350 million euros (about US$438 million) in a new French factory to make the three-dose vaccine, it could mean a billion euros in yearly sales, as half the world is exposed to the disease, notably in tropical cities from Rio and Mexico City to Manila and Phnom Penh.

World Health Organization epidemiologist Steven Bjorge told the Post yesterday that a medicinal measure to prevent the spread of dengue would be instrumental in countries like Cambodia.

Dengue Fever Kills 21 Cambodian Children

PHNOM PENH, June 7 (Bernama) -- Some 4,434 dengue fever cases and 21 deaths involving children were reported in Cambodia in the first five months of the year, according to the health ministry.

Ngan Chantha, director of the health ministry's dengue control programme, said the latest figures reveal an increase of 1,007 dengue cases and 8 deaths from the same period last year.

"The disease happens in a large scale in every five years -- this year can be one of those outbreaks," he said, Xinhua news agency reported.

A dengue fever outbreak happened in 2007 which recorded 40,000 cases and 407 deaths involving children.

Dengue fever kills 72 Cambodian children in 2011, up 89 pct

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Ministry of Health reported on Tuesday that at least 72 Cambodian children had been killed by dengue fever in 2011, an increase of 89 percent, compared with the 2010's deaths of 38 kids.

It said that there were 15,805 dengue fever cases reported in 2011, up 26 percent from 12,500 cases in a year earlier.

"The disease broke out in a large scale every three to five years and the year 2011 was the large scale breakout, that's why the cases were on the rise and the deaths were almost double," Ngan Chantha, director of dengue control at the Ministry of Health, told Xinhua over telephone on Tuesday.

Cambodia launches campaign to mark national day against dengue

June 20, 2011

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) – Cambodia launched a large-scale campaign here on Monday to mark the national day against dengue fever as the country's annual rainy season came.

The event was jointly launched by Minister of Health Mam Bunheng and Minister of Education Im Sithy, and participated by government officials, representatives of World Health Organization, relevant stakeholders and some 500 students.

Speaking during the launching, Mam Bunheng said that the celebration was to promote awareness among the public and to encourage them to join together to prevent dengue fever.

Dengue officials brace for "nightmare season"

May 17, 2011

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (IRIN) – As Cambodia enters its dengue season, with outbreaks in four out of 24 provinces, the National Dengue Control Programme (NDCP) is warning that a repeat of the 2007 epidemic – when about 40,000 people were hospitalized, more than 10,000 in one week – may be imminent.

“Based on my experience, I see the same pattern as 2007 emerging now,” said To Setha, a vector control specialist at the NDCP, pointing to the higher number of cases than usual during the final months of last year and the first two months of this year.

Rekul Huy, chief of epidemiology at the NDCP, is also alarmed by the high number of cases during months when dengue is usually rare.

Dengue fever kills seven in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Dengue fever has killed at least seven Cambodian since early this year, a government officer said Tuesday.

Ngan Chantha, director of National Dengue Control Program said since the early year to June 2010, seven people have died of dengue fever and 1,111 cases of the disease were recorded.

Last week, the disease was a bit more increased in Phnom Penh, and in three other provinces of Kampong Cham, Kompong Thom and Siem Reap.

Fearing continue spread of the disease, as many as 1,000 Cambodians were holding campaign to raise public awareness on Tuesday in central capital city of Phnom Penh.

Ngan Chantha said if proper medical care or treatment was not taken, or the patients were careless, their lives are in risk regardless they are old or young.

There were 11,699 cases of dengue fever in 2009, of which 38 people have died of the disease.

Cambodia sees more than 50% drop in dengue cases

PHNOM PENH, June 9 (Xinhua) -- Dengue fever cases this year have more than halved compared to the first six months of 2009, local media reported on Wednesday, citing officials of Health Ministry.

However, health officials warn that more dengue infections are likely during the forthcoming rainy season, which is arriving late.

Seven people died in the first five and a half months of this year, the same toll as last year, but reported infections have decreased in the same period from 2,431 to 1,111, the ministry's dengue control program director Ngan Chantha was quoted by the Cambodia Daily as saying.

"The number has decreased, but we are calling on people to remain careful with the breeding of mosquitoes during the rainy season," Chantha said.

"From the 21st to 22nd week, the jump in cases is quite high," Chantha said, noting there were 242 cases in week 22. "We should be vigilant because July is a highly vulnerable month."

The decrease in dengue fever cases is due to the delayed rainy season, increased public awareness and health care system improvements, said Hai Ra, head of dengue control at Kompong Cham provincial health department.

In the first 21 weeks of this year there were 122 reported cases of dengue with two deaths in Kompong Cham, down from 315 cases with three deaths during the same period last year, Hai Ra was quoted as saying.

Kompong Cham is the second-most affected province after Phnom Penh, followed by Kandal and Siem Reap.

Cambodia's dengue fever death toll sharply falls this year

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- The number of reported cases of dengue fever rose in 2009, but fatalities significantly fell from 2008 due to improved public awareness, local media reported on Thursday, citing health officials.

Ngan Chantha, director of dengue control at the Health Ministry, was quoted by the Cambodia Daily as saying that there were 11,625 cases of dengue fever and 36 deaths from the disease this year, compared to 9,245 cases and 65 deaths last year.

"We intervened by disseminating information through the media, spraying mosquito insecticide and training doctors and nurses to help dengue victims properly."

"People understand the disease and how dangerous it is, but they still don't change their behavior," he said, referring to the need to keep homes free of places where mosquitoes can breed.

Most of this year's dengue infections occurred in high-density areas in provinces including Kompong Cham, Kandal, Siem Reap and Kampot, as well as the capital Phnom Penh, Chantha added.

Doung Socheat, director of the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, agreed with Ngan Chantha that this year's decrease in fatalities was due to improved awareness and public health education on how to treat the disease.

Public health authorities will concentrate on decreasing further the number of both dengue infections and fatalities in the coming year, Socheat said.

Khmer rock revival seeks new audience

Chhom Nimol fronts the LA-based Khmer rock band Dengue Fever

Tuesday, 28 July 2009
By Sarah Cuddon
BBC News

Decades after Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge silenced the sound of Westernised music in Cambodia, the little-known 60s genre "Khmer rock" is finding new fans.

Khmer rock is the sound of the West meeting the East in the 1960s - a mixture of US surf guitar music, early rock and doo-wop mixed with Cambodian traditional instruments.

At the time, the music was virtually unknown outside Asia but its followers in the West are now burgeoning.

Music writer Nik Cohn is a new fan who stumbled across the sound by chance.

He said: "One night I was watching (the film) City of Ghosts, and there's an amazing moment when Matt Dillon jumps on a motorbike and rides through Phnom Penh and this incredible music comes on. An unbelievable voice.

"(I'd) not heard anything that good since Ronnie and Ronettes... and then I began to think about it musically."

Today, the sounds of the old Phnom Penh are being revived in the West by the Los Angeles-based band Dengue Fever, which is fronted by a Cambodian singer, Chhom Nimol, the daughter of musicians who played with the original Khmer rockers.

The band's guitarist Zac Holtzman loves the sound and stories of Phnom Penh's music scene.

"It was modern city, with lots of musicians. By day they played traditional stuff and by night they'd rock out.

"In general the Khmer culture is reserved, but this is the closest to stepping out and going crazy. We can really have fun here."

The country's former controversial ruler, Prince Norodom Sihanouk, was a big influence on the sound.

Despite presiding over an often corrupt and repressive regime, he was passionate and liberal about the arts, and encouraged the traditional court musicians to experiment with Western styles.

But influences also came directly from the US - as the American military presence in Vietnam increased, the American Forces Radio Network also became more well-known.

Flying studios operated by the US Navy spread the sound of rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and country music to Cambodia.

Phnom Penh's young musicians did not necessarily know who Jimi Hendrix, the Doors or the Beach Boys actually were, but they loved the sound and they started to imitate it.

"They just took the sound and re-channelled it through instruments equivalent to guitars… a primitive drum kit, and they certainly had bass guitar," Nik Cohn said.

The Khmer rock musicians did not have elaborate studios, and most of the songs were recorded live - often in one take - with any keyboards or guitars they could find, and incorporated traditional instruments.

For a decade, this experimental Khmer rock music transformed the nightlife of the capital, Phnom Penh.

But in 1975 the fanatically anti-Western Khmer Rouge marched in, led by Pol Pot, and the vibrant rock and roll scene was silenced.

Within four years, the Khmer Rouge killed an estimated two million Cambodians in the notorious killing fields, including many of the Khmer musicians.

Him Sophy was one of those sent to a labour camp.

"Ninety percent of the famous singers were killed. I saw the prisoners they took," he said.

Jon Swain, who was the Sunday Times war correspondent in South Vietnam and Cambodia at the time, said: "Educated people, musicians, people with glasses… a lot were taken to the killing fields… so the great singers disappeared."

All the local heroes the scene had produced - like Sin Sisamouth, who became known as "the King of Khmer music" - were wiped out, killed by the Khmer Rouge.

Cambodian musician and composer Sophy Him was a young music student in Phnom Penh and remembered him well.

"Sin Sisamouth would play (royal) court music, then rock music… improvisation from traditional and rock."

Guitarist Zac Holtzman said Sin Sisamouth was a songwriter who he initially thought "was like the Elvis of Cambodia", but then he found his lyrics were more like the "Bob Dylan of Cambodia".

"When you know that every one them was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge, many in hideous ways, it deepens the experience of listening to it" - Nik Cohn, music writer

No one quite knows what happened to the famous diva of the time, Ros Sereysothea, but it is believe she also died under Pol Pot.

Like almost all the Khmer rock artists, Ros Sereysothea came from a poor farming family.

She moved to Phnom Penh, where was heard singing by Prince Sihanouk, who later honoured her as "The Golden Voice of the Royal Capital".

It was her voice that Nik Cohn first heard on the soundtrack for film City Of Ghosts, and he said there was always "something tragic about her".

The music was wild and anarchic, but the lyrics often told a different story of teenage angst, death, betrayal and sorrow.

The translation to Ros Sereysothea's funky rock song "Have You Seen My Love" is: "I drink until I get drunk, but I can't seem to get drunk. The sky is all black, love has wings to fly."

It is this strange mix that appeals to fans like Nik Cohn. "It's the sound of innocence, teenagers and innocence, symbolising everything that was lost - and when you know that every one them was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge, many in hideous ways, it deepens the experience of listening to it."

Khmer Rock is adored in Cambodia. It survived on bootlegged cassette tapes and vintage vinyl kept hidden during the Communist years at enormous risk to the owners.

"The name of Sin Sisamouth is still there… after Khmer Rouge was overthrown, his songs came back on the radio.

"I remember hearing them again and they are still going on now," Jon Swain said.

And the old songs are winning new fans through reissues and compilations, a presence on the internet, and the new recordings by Dengue Fever.

Khmer Rock and the Killing Fields presented by Robin Denselow, is to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Tuesday, 28 July, at 1330 BST.

Cambodia claims success against dengue fever, while other nations report rising incidence

5 Jan 2009
Paul Chinnock
TropIKA.net

The incidence of dengue fever – which is transmitted by mosquitoes and causes fever, headaches and agonising muscle and joint pains – has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. The World Health Organization estimates that there may be 50 million dengue infections worldwide every year and that some 2.5 billion people – two fifths of the world’s population – are at risk of infection by the dengue virus.

There will therefore be considerable international interest in claims that Cambodia is making good progress in improving control of the disease. The director of the health ministry’s anti-dengue fever programme, Ngan Chantha, says that only 65 people died from dengue fever in Cambodia in 2008, down from 407 in 2007, thanks to preventive measures taken by the government and international agencies. Government figures show that 9,300 people were infected during the year compared with 40,000 in 2007, the highest in nearly a decade. Ngan Chantha credits greater funding and educational programmes for the drop in infection rates and deaths. He noted that support for the government’s control programme had been provided by WHO, World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and USAID.

The Cambodian experience contrasts with that of other countries in Southeast Asia, and also in the Americas. Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque recently reported there had been a rise in dengue cases – together with more cases of typhoid and cholera – for which global warming was responsible.

Malaysia also has a growing dengue problem, Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said, ‘About 75% of dengue deaths in Malaysia can be prevented if the public take active roles in dengue prevention and control activities.’ He said 85% of infections occurred in residential premises and 80% of the breeding sites for Aedes mosquitoes were in house compounds. During 2008 the government fined nearly 32,000 people for inadequate maintenance of their compounds, nearly double the figure for the previous year.

There is concern about the dengue situation in Indonesia, where some districts are reported to be particularly badly hit. During 2008 an average of 172 people out of every 100,000 East Kalimantan residents contracted dengue fever each month, over eight times the national average of 20 cases per 100,000 people. There were 101 deaths in East Kalimantan between January and November, a death rate of 1.9% – double the national average.

It is not just developing countries that have a dengue problem. Australia has experienced an increasing incidence. North Queensland has been told to brace itself for the worst outbreak in five years; by the end of December there had already been 52 cases. Residents have been urged to take preventive measures. Apathy over prevention has been cited as a key issue.

On the other side of the world, in Trinidad, 2008 is being referred to as the Year of Dengue Fever. While the authorities have denied there is a major problem, the public perception is different and there have been allegations of a failure to spray households in areas of mosquito infestation. The British government has warned visitors to Trinidad of the risk of dengue. No figures are available although they have been promised for early this year.

WHO says that in 2007 there were more than 890 000 reported cases of dengue in the Americas, of which 26 000 cases were the life-threatening dengue haemorrhagic fever. Throughout the tropical world urbanization is increasing, creating habitats well suited to the Aedes mosquito. While global warming may well be a factor, inadequate preventive efforts in poor urban districts are of greater concern. More information is available in a WHO factsheet.

New hope

It has often been suggested that the Wolbachia bacteria might offer a way of controlling the spread of dengue. The bacteria reduce the lifespan of Aedes mosquitoes and, as only older, mosquitoes transmit the dengue virus, spreading Wolbachia among Aedes populations could in theory have a major effect. Now, Australian scientists, writing in the journal Science, report success in spreading Wolbachia in laboratory-bred mosquitoes. The researchers from the University of Queensland in Brisbane picked a strain of Wolbachia known to halve the lifespan of its host. The mosquito which carries the dengue virus is not naturally susceptible to the bacteria, so the researchers adapted it to create a successful infection. A short summary may be found in a BBC news story.

Cambodia fights dengue with better preparation

Tuesday, December 30, 2008
ABC Radio Australia

Cambodia's health ministry says better preparation accounted for a significant fall in the number of deaths from dengue fever this year.

Only 65 people died from dengue fever in Cambodia in 2008, down from over 400 the year before.

A Cambodian Health Ministry official says the "best ever preparation" taken by the government and international agencies was behind the 85 per cent decrease.

Just 9 thousand 300 people were infected with the mosquito born disease this year, compared with 40-thousand in 2007.

Cambodian dengue cases down, but tourist hubs still at risk

Thu, 07 Aug 2008
DPA

Phnom Penh - After an epidemic last year, Cambodia has reported less than half the number of cases of the potentially deadly mosquito-borne dengue fever during the same period in 2008, an official said Thursday. Dengue Control Centre director Duong Socheat warned that the nation's main tourist hubs of Siem Reap and Phnom Penh remained amongst the highest risk areas as the country entered the peak of its monsoon season.

"For the period until August 1 this year we had some 3,800 cases compared to 10,000 cases last year, with 35 fatalities so far," Duong Socheat told Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

Child dengue deaths down but mortality rate up in 2008

Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Khoun Leakhana
The Mekong Times

Although Cambodia has witnessed a dramatic decline in the number of children dying from dengue fever this year, a slight rise in mortality rates has led officials to point to a perpetual lack of understanding of early diagnosis and treatment in rural communities.

The mortality rate was 1.2 percent from January to early June this year compared to only 1 percent for the same period last year, according to a report released yesterday by the National Dengue and Malaria Control Program (NDMCP).

Of the 1,811 cases of children suffering from dengue fever so far this year, 22 were fatal, while during the whole of 2007 the mosquito-born disease attacked more than 40,000 people, 407 said the MDMCP. Most dengue victims are children

“For the fatal cases, we are gravely concerned that they are chiefly related to the lack of awareness of citizens,” DMS Manager Uy Rekol said. “Parents don’t yet understand the symptoms of children suffering from dengue. Sick children are being sent to kru Khmer [traditional healers].”

It’s only when such treatment fails to work well and children’s health worsens that they are sent to hospital, leaving doctors with little opportunity to save their lives, explained Uy Rekol, who also expressed concern about the possibility of dengue fever developing into a more serious form of the illness in Cambodia.

“Scientifically, we have not been able to conclude if dengue will explode this year,” he said. “Although the [severity of] the disease remains at a low level, we feel worried because in Cambodia it can transform to some degree in terms of virology from category 3 to category 2. From my point of view, it could become an epidemic.”

To curb the spread of dengue, Ngan Chanta, deputy director of the National Malaria Center and manager of the National Dengue Control Program, said authorities are educating, helping and urging local residents to keep vigilant for the disease. He said the program has been encouraging the use of insecticides, the anti-larvae solution Albet, and the cleaning of surroundings to destroy mosquito shelters in several provinces including Siem Reap and Kompong Thom.

The National Malaria Center began using about 56 tons of Albet in eight provinces in March and has sent another 80 tons to another 10 provinces.

Dengue Fever Season in Cambodia

Kim Theary, a two-year-old child suffering from dengue fever, is held by her mother under a tree outside a hospital in Cambodia's Kandal province May 31, 2008. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Children suffering from dengue fever are held by their parents under a tree outside a hospital in Cambodia's Kandal province May 31, 2008. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
Children suffering from dengue fever are held by their parents under a tree outside a hospital in Cambodia's Kandal province May 31, 2008. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Thailand reports surge in dengue fever

Sunday, February 17, 2008
The Associated Press

BANGKOK, Thailand: Dengue fever has sickened more than 2,800 people and killed four in Thailand this year, sparking worries about a possible wider outbreak despite efforts to control the disease, the health ministry said Sunday.

A total of 2,824 cases of the mosquito-borne illness were detected in Thailand from Jan. 1-Feb. 9, compared to 1,702 cases with no fatalities reported during the same period in 2007, the ministry said in a statement.

Countries across Southeast Asia experienced the worst outbreaks of dengue fever in years in 2007, with Thailand reporting about 60,000 cases and 29 fatalities. Large outbreaks also occurred in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia.

The dengue virus causes severe joint pain, high fever, nausea and a rash. In the worst cases it can lead to internal bleeding, liver enlargement, circulatory shutdown and sometimes death. There is no known cure or vaccine.

Scientists fear rising temperatures and longer rainy seasons — like Thailand experienced last year — will allow more mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue and malaria to flourish.

"The mosquitoes that carry the dengue virus have also been able to adapt to climate change, becoming more resistant to dry weather and breeding faster," ministry official Praj Boonyarowong said in the statement.

The ministry advised people to protect themselves from mosquitoes by ridding their homes and surroundings of flower pots, old tires and discarded bottles or cans where stagnant water can collect and allow the insects to breed.

Life scenes from Cambodia

A Cambodian woman works on a corn harvest at Battambang province in northwestern Cambodia, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. Corn is the main crop in Pailin, where residents are among the country's vast poor majority. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

A mother helps carry carry an intravenous bottle as her child is administered an iv drip on their way back from a clinic northwest of Pailin January 16, 2008. Cambodia suffered its worst ever outbreak of dengue fever last year and it killed 407 people, most of them children, the highest toll in nearly a decade. REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea

Health education about dengue fever 'insufficient' in Cambodia

Public release date: 4-Dec-2007

Health education regarding the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of dengue fever is “insufficient, under-funded, and irregular” in Cambodia, according to a new study published in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

Dengue fever, caused by a mosquito-transmitted virus, has become a significant public health problem in Cambodia, where a recent epidemic resulted in 34,542 cases and 365 deaths nationwide between January and August 2007.

Health education is essential to dengue control in ensuring that community members understand the mechanisms of infection and the key behaviors that need to be addressed to prevent transmission, reduce severe disease, and avoid fatalities. In Cambodia, health education for dengue control is provided in primary schools, at village health centers, and by the National Dengue Control Program. However, the study suggests that these educational programs are accorded low priority; strategies and materials are not evaluated on a routine basis; messages are sometimes confusing; and the health staff lacks the training, time, and opportunities to deliver educational messages.

The researchers, Dr Sokrin Khun from Cambodia’s Ministry of Health and Professor Lenore Manderson from Monash University in Australia, used ethnographic methods such as key-informant interviews, focus-group discussions, in-depth interviews, and open-ended questionnaires in Kampong Cham, a province in eastern Cambodia where dengue is particularly prevalent. They found that, although health education within the community offers potential to reduce the prevalence of dengue, “this cannot occur where health education is poorly resourced and episodic, and where attention is not paid to the translation of knowledge to practice.”

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CITATION: Khun S, Manderson L (2007) Community and School-Based Health Education for Dengue Control in Rural Cambodia: A Process Evaluation. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 1(2): e143. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000143

CONTACT:

Dr. Sokrin Kuhn
Ministry of Health
National Centre for Health Promotion
Cambodia
855 12 91 67 68
hunsokrin@hotmail.com