Asia bracing for dengue fever outbreaks

HONG KONG, June 24 (UPI) -- Several nations in southeast Asia are preparing for the worst as dengue fever spreads across the continent and the disease's peak season is about to begin.

The Voice of America said Sunday that with July and August representing the peak season for the infection, officials in many Asian nations have voiced concerns about the potential for widespread outbreaks.

Health officials have warned that increased migration and travel in Asia has played a significant role in the spread of dengue fever, which can be deadly to humans.

"In Jakarta, a city of 12 million people, there is a lot of in-migration from rural areas of Java, Bali and Sumatra and in many cases, those people are not immune so they provide the place that another epidemic could get started," World Health Organization official Steven Bjorge said of an outbreak in Indonesia.

Migrants typically do not have an immune system to fight the virus like their urban counterparts and therefore are more susceptible to infection, Bjorge said.

The Voice of America said the only way to prevent outbreaks is to eliminate potential breeding grounds for mosquitoes that can carry the disease.