Dengue fever strikes Dili

Dengue fever strikes Dili

DILI, East Timor: Fifteen people have been hospitalized in an outbreak of dengue fever in the East Timorese capital, a local health official said yesterday.

Chief of the city health office, Rustam S. Pakaya, said the local government has embarked on a campaign aimed at informing residents on how to avoid the disease.

"I have asked all village health centers to bring the epidemic under control before it's too late," he was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency. Most of the 15 cases occurred in the city's eastern suburb, he said.

He denied local press reports that up to 14 people, mostly children, have died from the disease, which is spread by aedes aegepty mosquitos. (rms)