Guangdong steps up fight against dengue

Public participation against spread of the illness sought as threat persists

Guangdong province in South China has stepped up preventive measures to control the spread of dengue fever, with more than 10,300 confirmed cases having been reported by the end of October.

With the spread ongoing, the illness is still posing a serious threat to residents despite last week's drop in the number of patients, according to a statement released by the Guangdong Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday.

The subtropical province detected 1,785 patients from Oct 21 to 27, compared to more than 2,000 confirmed cases reported in the weeks before, said the statement, adding that most of the dengue fever patients were detected in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, and its neighboring city Foshan.