More than 14,000 people have contracted dengue fever and 11 have died so far this year, Disease Control Department director-general Suwannachai Wattanayingcharoenchai said on Sunday, according to a media report.
Citing a report from the Bureau of Epidemiology, from Jan 1 to May 25 this year, 14,136 people were found to have caught dengue fever, or 21.28 per 100,000 population. Eleven people died from the disease during the same period, or 0.02 per 100,000 population.
The five provinces with the highest numbers of dengue fever cases per 100,000 population were Rayong at 73, Chaiyaphum 58.13, Khon Kaen 53.83, Mae Hong Son 37.87 and Nakhon Ratchasima 36.92.
By region, the numbers of dengue fever cases per 100,000 population were 25.67 in the Northeast, 22.04 in the Central region, 18.42 in the South and 14.14 in the North.
Mr Suwannachai said dengue fever cases have been on the rise due to the increase in water-logged areas now that rainy season has arrived, which are conducive to the outbreak of the disease.
To control the outbreak, teams have been deployed to spray repellents to kill mosquitoes. People have been asked to cooperate by getting rid of breeding grounds for larvae in their communities and sleeping under mosquito nets.