IMNA – Children are experiencing an outbreak of dengue, a debilitating early rainy season illness transmitted by mosquitoes, said eyewitnesses from Moulmein (Mawlamyaine) General Hospital and other private clinics in the capital of Mon State.
A medical doctor who asked not to be identified said, “I have found there are more children in Moulmein suffering from this illness. There are many 7- and 8-month-old children who are suffering. In our town of Mudon, we do not see so many of them”.
The doctor also operates a private clinic in Mudon. In addition to public hospitals, there are many private clinics operating in Mon State.
A villager from Hnee-pa-daw Village, Mudon Township, said there are many children from Moulmein, Mudon, and Thanbyuzayat Townships suffering from dengue, and some children have been brought to Moulmein Children’s Hospital (known as the ‘American Missionary Hospital’ during the colonial period). She also witnessed the outbreak while she was visiting a young patient in Moulmein Hospital.
“I arrived at the American Hospital this Monday to look at the condition of a 7-month-old child from my village. I do not know why dengue has been breaking out among the children of less than one year old. The hospital is full of children with dengue”, confirmed the villager.
She also noticed that the number of ill children this year is greater than last year. They are mostly in the age range of less than one year to 13 years, although adults can also suffer from this illness.
“I found many children in Moulmein have gotten this illness, but only small numbers in rural villages. Now the health workers are doing a health education campaign about how to prevent dengue,” said a Mon health worker in Hnee-pa-daw Village, Mudon Township.
Dengue is transmitted from the sting of mosquitoes with the biological names Aedes Aegypti and Aedes Albopictus. These mosquitoes are born in clean rainwater during the rainy season, explained by Dr. Min Soe Lin, who operates a clinic in Moulmein.
Many mosquitoes are born in water canals, tanks, and other water containers, then fly out and sting humans. Those who do not get sufficient protection from mosquito bites can suffer from illness. State media has announced that children in the age range from 3-to-12-years-old are vulnerable to suffer from this disease.
In 2010, the Mon State Health Department announced that there were a total 1,236 dengue patients from January to July 2010, and about 10 patients died.
Although public government hospitals operate in many towns in Burma, clinics have become popular in villages and towns, as these small health centers provide better health care service than public hospitals, and they are operated by qualified doctors and health workers.
