Dengue fever kills 10 people in Angola

At least 834 cases of dengue fever have been recorded in Angola since March, with 10 patients reportedly dead of the disease. The capital city of Luanda, home to one third of the southern African country's 20 million population, was the worst hit with 831 cases found, the official news agency Angop reported on Monday. The provinces of Malanje and Kwanza Sul recorded two cases and one case respectively, Angop said, citing the Ministry of Health. There were 657 cases confirmed in laboratory tests and 214 people admitted in hospital, the ministry said, adding that health authorities are training professionals in the provinces of Malanje, Uige, Lunda Norte and Kuando Kubango to combat outbreaks. Dengue fever is an acute febrile infectious disease caused by a virus of the flaviridae family and is transmitted by aedes aegypti mosquito which were infected by the virus. Angola apparently had more precipitation in the just-ended rainy season, providing more breeding grounds to the mosquitoes. Most of the foreign companies operating in Angola have warned their workers to guard against dengue fever.