Burmese girl, 6, first dengue fatality on Phuket this year

PHUKET: In the wake of a six-year-old Burmese girl dying from dengue fever after arriving on the island in April, the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) is urging everyone to bolster efforts to remove possible breeding grounds for mosquitoes potentially carrying the disease.

The young girl was in Phuket for less than two weeks before she was admitted to Vachira Phuket Hospital on April 16, explained PPHO Deputy Chief Krit Sakulpat.

“She had been suffering from a fever for four days before she was admitted. She was kept in the Intensive Care Unit for two days before she died,” Dr Krit said.

“The girl was living with her parents on a rubber plantation where they worked in Chalong,” he added.

Mr Krit asked the press to help inform the public of dengue-prevention measures, as Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut launched the “333” dengue-awareness campaign last month (story here).

“Under the campaign, villagers inspect areas around their homes; check on patients who are showing symptoms of dengue fever; and remove water containers that can function as mosquito breeding grounds,” Mr Krit said.

The PPHO is also cooperating with other government offices to ensure that the news of the death of the Burmese girl and ways to prevent further deaths is spread across the island.

“With students returning to school next week, it is especially important they are well informed about dengue prevention,” he added.

— Chutharat Plerin