Preoccupied with dengue fever, this capital of south China's Guangdong Province has been stepping up
efforts to fight mosquitoes across the city.
While accelerating the disposal of garbage and improving its
transport system, Guangzhou has opened hotlines for citizens to
report forgotten places where mosquitoes gather.
Besides mosquito hotspots, such as dustbins and garbage
depositories, pools of water, canteens and unused tyres on the
city's 3,000-odd construction sites and wasteland areas have
attracted attention from the municipal authorities.
"Mosquitoes are to blame for the transmission of dengue fever.
Our efforts to destroy the breeding beds for mosquitoes are
expected to prevent dengue fever from spreading further," said Ling
Weixian, vice-mayor of Guangzhou, yesterday.
According to the Guangdong Provincial Health Department, a total
of 219 dengue cases were reported in the province by yesterday
evening.
Of them, 192 were reported in Guangzhou, 20 in Yangjiang, five
in Foshan, one in Zhuhai and one in Chaozhou.
A total of 111 people have recovered, with the remaining 108
still in hospital.
According to Tang Xiaoping, president of the Guangzhou No 8
People's Hospital, which is the only hospital designated by the
local authorities to receive dengue fever patients, citizens need
not panic, saying that the disease was treatable.
No deaths from dengue fever have been reported in the province
this year.
(China Daily September 5, 2006)