year-old male and a 22-year-old female have died at King Faisal Hospital in Makkah from dengue fever. Hospital sources said the pair had been admitted to intensive care three days prior to their death which resulted from an irretrievable breakdown in red blood cells. The father of the male said his son was diagnosed as suffering from dengue fever at a private hospital after being struck by a sudden fever, and was subsequently transferred to King Faisal Hospital where he breathed his last three days later. Authorities have become increasingly concerned at an apparent rise in the cases of dengue fever, with the National Society for Human Rights noting last week some 139 cases receiving treatment at a Makkah hospital in the last three months alone. The Minister of Agriculture made a tour of sites in Jeddah last week to oversee efforts to combat the virus. Dengue fever is a flu-like illness spread by infected mosquitoes, and symptoms include fever, headache, painful aching in the legs and joints, vomiting, diarrhea, swollen glands (in the neck and groin) and body rashes. Despite there being no specific treatment for infection, a majority of people recover completely within two weeks. Dengue hemorrhagic fever, however, is a severe and often fatal complication of dengue fever.
