DENPASAR

A 12-year-old boy from Banjar Kalang Anyar, Tababan, became the latest victim of Bali’s dengue outbreak when he died of the haemorrhagic form of the disease at Sanglah General Hospital last Tuesday. He was admitted on Sunday.

The boy was the third dengue fatality at Sanglah since the beginning of June. A seven-year-old boy died last Wednesday and a 10-year-old boy last Friday. Both children were from Denpasar, where the outbreak is most virulent.

Sanglah’s dengue team secretary, Dr Ken Wirasandhi, said this week the hospital was still treating a high number of dengue patients. It had 112 patients on Tuesday this week, but this was down from 127 the previous day.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease that threatens urban areas where drainage is poor, rubbish is left uncollected and householders do not ensure their houses and gardens are free of stagnant water breeding areas.