Cases of dengue fever in Laos have reached 3,089 since January, including eight deaths, according to the Lao Ministry of Health.
Latsamy Vongkhamsao, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Communicable Disease Control under the Lao Ministry of Health, told a press conference on Tuesday that the highest number of dengue patients were reported in Vientiane Capital at 642, while 395 cases were reported in Vientiane Province, and 358 cases were reported in the province of Bolikhamxay.
The eight deaths included three in Vientiane Capital, two in Bolikhamxay, one in Khammuane, one in Xayaboury, and one in Xiengkhouang.
Lao health authorities are urging people to clear potential mosquito breeding sites around their homes and places of work to help control the spread of the virus.
According to the World Health Organisation, dengue fever is one of the fastest-growing diseases and one of the most rapidly spreading infectious diseases, with high incidences often seen in Thailand, Laos, the Philippines, and Singapore.
In the western Pacific region, the number of cases has more than doubled in the last 10 years.
