More than 50,000 people have suffered from dengue fever this year, and 63 have died, Deputy Public Health Minister Pansiri Kulanartsiri said yesterday.
She said that the dengue epidemic this year was up from the same period last year by 83 per cent.
In the South, 13,045 people contracted the fever, along with 14,509 patients in the Central region, 13,635 in the Northeast and 7,325 people in the North.
Of all the patients, seven were aged less than 28 days and 409 aged 65 or older.
The Department of Disease Control's director-general, Dr Manit Teeratantikanont, said 80 per cent of the patients were bitten by mosqui-toes inside their homes.
Lots of people suffering from dengue fever indicated that the quantity of common house mosquitoes that carry the disease was high. There is no vaccine for preventing dengue fever, said Pansiri, who urged all households nationwide to help reduce the number of mosquitoes to pro-tect themselves from the fever. She advised people to try to get rid of mosquito larvae in vessels holding water by changing the water every seven days.
Pansiri said people should cover vessels holding water to prevent mosquitoes from laying their eggs.
The deputy minister, who was accompanied by Manit, presided yester-day over the opening of a concert in Samut Prakan province to promote dengue fever protection.