THE peak dengue fever season might be over but medical officials have warned that precautions against the disease should continue to be taken as it can strike at any time of the year.

Dr Aung Than, the head of the Health Department under the Yangon City Development Committee, said that although the incidence of dengue fever has dropped significantly since its peak in July, all households should continue to safeguard against the disease.

“People mainly need to keep water tanks covered and change the water in flower vases often,” he said.

Standing water provides the ideal environment for the breeding of mosquito larvae.

Dr Aung Than said that since the beginning of the year his department, in the collaboration with the Yangon Division Health Department, has conducted health education and community-based prevention programs every Wednesday in six townships a week according to a rotating system.

“Our activities have increased community awareness about the disease but it doesn’t mean that all households apply the prevention techniques,” he said.

According to the Ministry of Health, more than 13,000 people were infected with dengue fever this year up to the end of September, resulting in 164 deaths.

During the peak month of July more than 4500 cases, including 63 deaths, were reported. In August there were more than 3000 dengue cases resulting in 27 deaths, and in September more than 1100 cases and eight deaths.

Dr Kyaw Zin Wai, a consultant paediatrician at the Intensive Care Unit at Yangon Children Hospital, said that even though the main mosquito breeding season is over, parents should still be on the lookout for dengue fever symptoms in their children.

“People should consider the possibility of dengue fever if their children have a fever for more than three days,” he said. “There are still children seeking treatment for dengue at the Yangon Children Hospital.”