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South China province sees almost 1,500 new dengue fever cases - Xinhua

Over 21,500 people have been diagnosed with dengue fever in Guangdong Province so far, according to local health authorities, six people died as a result of the disease

BEIJING, October 6. /TASS/. The number of people infected with dengue fever is rising alarmingly in South China with 1,431 new cases reported in Guangdong Province, Xinhua news agency said on Monday.

A total of 21,527 people have been diagnosed with dengue fever in 20 out of 21 prefecture-level cities in Guangdong so far, the agency quoted local health authorities as saying.

One new fatality case was reported by the provincial health and family planning commission on Sunday, bringing the death toll in the province to six, Xinhua said.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne, potentially fatal disease that affects, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 100 million people in tropical and subtropical regions every year, causing fever combined with muscle and joint aches.

The outbreak of dengue this year is believed to be the worst in 20 years, Xinhua said, adding that health authorities attributed the outbreak to high temperatures and wet weather in Guangdong, where the mosquito population was five times the normal level.

Apart from Guangdong, some other southern provinces and regions, including Fujian, Hunan and Guangxi, also reported dengue cases lately, the agency said.