Thailand to help Cambodia contain dengue fever

BANGKOK, Thailand will send health officials and medical equipment to help neighboring Cambodia to contain dengue fever after the number of dengue fever cases there was recorded at nearly 10,000 in June.

The Cambodian government requested Thailand's assistance to contain dengue fever there after the spreading disease officially became a crisis when the death toll last month was reported at 132,a five-fold increase over the previous month, Thawat Suntrajarn, director-general of the Public Health Ministry's Disease Control Department said Wednesday.

Thai Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla has been assigned by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont to lead teams of specialists and carry medical equipment to Cambodia on Thursday.

Medical equipment will be sent to Cambodia by aircraft of the Royal Thai Airforce. The Thai medical teams will treat Cambodian patients and update Cambodian medical staff on new procedures of preventing and containing dengue fever outbreaks.