Dengue in China

GUANGZHOU, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Some 1,340 new dengue cases were confirmed in south China's Guangdong Province on Friday, said the provincial health authorities on Saturday.

The total number of dengue infections in Guangdong rose to 28,851, over 27 times that of same period last year, according to the provincial health and family planning commission.

Worst-hit Guangzhou, the provincial capital, has reported a total of 24,485 dengue cases. Twenty cities in the province have reported dengue cases.

The disease has killed six in Guangdong -- five in Guangzhou and one in Foshan City.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne, potentially fatal disease that affects between 50 million and 100 million people in tropical and subtropical regions every year, causing fever combined with muscle and joint aches.

Some 23 provinces or regions of China including Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan and Guangxi have also detected hundreds of dengue infection cases this year.