Field teams in the southern province of Shabwa have been combating an outbreak of dengue fever that hit the area in mid-May and affected hundreds, health officials have said.
The epidemic has broken out in three of 17 districts in Shabwa, including Mayfaa, Hotaib, and al-Saeed, according to the local health office in Shabwa.
Ahmed Awadh, head of the Dengue fever department, said the number of cases reported so far was 969.
"The main reason was stagnant water, where mosquitoes gather. Rains have also played a role in spreading the disease," he told IRIN on 3 June.
Awadh said the infectious disease had claimed the lives of five people because of ignorance as it was treated as a mere fever.
"Our worry at the moment is stagnant water and rainfall, which would worsen the situation," he said.
Ahmed Saeed, deputy head of Shabwa Health Office, told IRIN that people's awareness of the epidemic was very important in trying to prevent it.
More awareness needed
"It is not a matter of disease but awareness. People keep water in uncovered storage jars. They should get rid of stagnant water, too," he said.
In addition to combating the disease, the field teams in the affected areas help educate citizens about dengue fever and how to prevent it, according to the health official.
"The symptoms of dengue fever include severe headache, skin eruption, muscle pain, arthritis, and also pain behind the eyes. The field teams advise citizens with such symptoms to go to any nearby health facility," he said.
 The main reason was stagnant water, where mosquitoes gather. Rains have also played a role in spreading the disease. |
Saeed further noted that the field teams had distributed mosquito nets and sprayed the breeding areas and homes.
"The field teams distribute medicines for the infected people after sending them to health facilities," he said.
Tens of dengue fever cases were also reported in the western province of al-Hudeidah. But health officials there refused to give further details when contacted by IRIN, saying that making the cases public would cause panic among residents.
The western al-Hudeidah governorate, 474km from Sanaa, was hit by dengue fever in 2005, and a total of 392 cases were reported, with 15 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection caused by one of four virus serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4). A more severe form of the disease is known as dengue hemorrhagic fever, which is most serious in children.
According to WHO, two-fifths of the world's population - some 2.5 billion people - are at risk and there may be 50 million dengue infections worldwide every year.
The disease is now endemic in more than 100 countries in Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, southeast Asia and the western Pacific, WHO said.
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