Dengue fever warning issued for Thailand

Thailand's Public Health Ministry issued a warning about dengue fever yesterday, saying "the country is experiencing the worst outbreak of dengue fever in a decade, with more than 4,000 people infected by the virus in only two months."

Today's Bangkok Post neglected to provide readers with the whole explanation for the present dengue crisis in Thailand:

The surge in dengue fever infections was mainly because of climate change which accelerated the life cycle of the mosquito, enabling them to produce a minimum infective dose of the dengue virus faster than before, he added.

That's not the half of it. Dengue is surging largely because Bangkok residents make no serious effort to eliminate sites where dengue-carrying mosquitoes can breed. The Thai government has not advised the population of Bangkok to drain the pools of water where mosquitoes breed. (Scientists have shown that Bangkok is the epicenter of the country's annual dengue problem). Dengue can be prevented through public education, neighborhood inspections, and fining owners of properties -- especially construction sites -- where mosquito larvae are discovered.* This post at Jot around the world for more information about dengue and the epidemic in Thailand.
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* That's how Singapore successfully dealt with its recent dengue epidemic.