Severe dengue outbreak kills 12 in Thailand

Thailand, where mosquitoes are a pest in every home, is facing a severe outbreak of dengue fever with 12 people dead so far this year, almost double the toll a year earlier, a health official said on Thursday.

Dengue has infected 7,200 people as of May 7, of whom 12 have died, up from seven deaths in the same period last year, Department of Disease Control chief Thawat Suntrajarn told Reuters.

“No province in Thailand is immune from dengue outbreaks because we have mosquitoes everywhere,” Thawat said, adding the outbreak usually peaks between late June and July when wet season rains are the heaviest.

The tropical disease made headlines this week when thousands of people queued at hospitals in Bangkok to donate blood for a 13-year-old sufferer. The boy died on Wednesday after suffering internal bleeding for nearly a week.

The disease - which killed 176 of 114,800 infected people in 2002 - is characterised by high fever, rash, headaches, and severe muscle and joint pain. 

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