The dengue fever infection and related deaths have soared in Thailand this year, reversing the dropping trend registered over the past four years, the Public Health Ministry said.

After keeping the disease in check from 2001-2004, dengue became a cause of concern for health officials again this year. By mid-2005, 31 people died of dengue fever, and the number was set to surpass the 2004 figure.

The fever normally peaks in July, the middle of the rainy season, and gradually subside until infections cease with the arrival of the winter season.

However, this year's rainy season seems to provide little relief from dengue fever infections. The Public Health Ministry warns that next year the situation could be more grave.

"We can't say exactly that it will happen. But the outbreaks are very serious in Singapore and Malaysia. It is better to be on preventive alert, rather than go on alert after something has occurred," Kitti Pramatphol, an official at the Epidemiology Bureau responsible for fighting the disease, was quoted by Bangkok Post newspaper as saying Tuesday.

According to earlier reports, Malaysia had 32,950 cases of dengue and more than 80 fatalities this year, comparing to 68 deaths in the same period last year. Singapore reported 12,700 cases and 19 deaths in 2005, greatly surpassing 9,459 dengue cases in 2004, the highest since records began in the mid-1990s.

This poses a warning to Thailand that the disease's life cycle is on an upward trend, said Kitti.

He warned southern provinces such as Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Krabi could be the hardest hit next year, rather than provinces bordering Malaysia, due to the mobility of people in the upper South.

Since the beginning of the year, Surat Thani was stricken hard by dengue with

1,800 infection cases and three reported deaths. In 2004, there were 800 infection cases in the province.

Surat Thani's public health chief Phumivit Kwanmuang said they had worked out an urgent plan to root out the disease. A system of surveillance, together with quick detection and mosquito eradication programs, were incorporated into the plan.

Source: Xinhua