Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Five new cases of dengue fever have been registered in Jeddah last week. The cases were in central and north Jeddah districts. Director of Jeddah Health Affairs Dr. Sami Badawood confirmed the report, but said no deaths have been reported. He said the number of new cases has decreased from previous levels, which were exceeding 100 cases a month. Badawood said there are medical teams that visit the homes of affected patients to review the situation and educate them and their families of dengue fever. He pointed out that the directorate's role is to examine the patients and provide them with necessary treatment. Dengue fever is a debilitating viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes, causing sudden fever and acute pains in the joints. Ever since the first appearance of dengue fever in Jeddah in 2004, the Ministry of Health and the municipality have tried to eradicate the disease. The ministry was able to get the epidemic under control in 2007 after a series of measures were adopted following several royal orders. New infections and deaths had almost disappeared but the fever has recently resurfaced. Residents have become very apprehensive of the disease, which causes high fever and may result in death, especially among children and the elderly. Residents have asked the municipality to intensify efforts to spray pesticides until the disease disappears. Khalid Al-Metairi asked for prompt action on pools of stagnant water that appear every once in a while due to negligence by contracting companies. He said some of these pools remain neglected for more than a year, allowing mosquitoes to fester. “They are not dealt with until a dengue fever case is reported in the neighborhood,”Al-Metairi said.
