TOKYO, September 26 (RIA Novosti) – The number of dengue fever cases in Japan has reached 144, almost doubling in the past two and a half weeks, while one more park in Tokyo is believed to be a hotbed of the disease, Japan's Health Ministry said Friday.
The first cases of dengue fever were registered in Japan in late August – for the first time in 70 years. According to the Health Ministry, two girls from Saitama Prefecture and a young man from Tokyo were the first ones infected.
Due to the spread of the disease, Tokyo's authorities have been undertaking disinfection works, closing the popular Yoyogi Park and Shinjuku Central Park. Restrictions have also been placed on visits to Aoyama Park, Sotobori Park and Meiji Jingu Gaien Park. According to the NHK television channel, one more park, Nakameguro, located in the Meguro district near numerous embassies, was added to the list after a 30-year-old man who recently visited the park was diagnosed with dengue fever.
A new case of the disease is now suspected in Sumida City after a woman bitten by a mosquito at Sumida Park started showing symptoms of dengue fever last week. The woman currently remains in hospital.
Dengue fever is a tropical disease spread by mosquitoes causing symptoms such as severe joint pain and high fever, potentially developing into a lethal complication called severe dengue, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Currently there are no vaccines or drugs to combat dengue fever and experts claim that preventive measures, like using insect repellents and wearing long sleeved clothing and long trousers is the only cure.
Fifty million to 100 million people living in tropical or subtropical areas become infected with dengue fever each year.
