Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital in Siem Reap province successfully treated a 5-year-old girl suffering from severe dengue fever. The child, who exhibited telltale symptoms of dengue such as high fever, vomiting, abdominal pain, and bloody stools, was saved after undergoing intensive care for ten days and recovered on June 3.
According to the Cambodia Kantha Bopha Foundation, the patient arrived at the hospital on May 25, after experiencing symptoms for four days. Prior to being admitted to the hospital, she received intravenous fluids at a local health clinic.
“Immediately upon her arrival, the girl’s condition worsened dramatically. She suffered from refractory shock seven times and required resuscitation, oxygen support, and plasma transfusions. However, after receiving dedicated care, she made a full recovery and was discharged on June 3,” said the foundation.
This year, Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital has witnessed a significant rise in patient numbers.
The outpatient department treated 320,921 children during the first five months of the year, a 52 per cent increase on last year. Additionally, the hospital admitted 74,975 seriously ill children, a 108 per cent increase.
Among the admissions, 375 patients were suffering from severe dengue fever. 10,391 children underwent surgical operations, with 367 of them receiving open-heart surgeries and catheterizations at the Siem Reap and Phnom Penh branches.
In addition, the hospital’s outpatient department at Jayavarman VII Hospital, also known as Kantha Bopha III in Siem Reap province, treated 42,095 pregnant women, with a rise of 35 per cent in deliveries, for a total of 8,319 births.
During the handover ceremony of $1 million by the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) on June 1, Ros Seiliava, executive director of the Cambodia Kantha Bopha Foundation, expressed gratitude for the CRC’s ongoing contributions.
He emphasised their importance in safeguarding the sustainability of the hospital’s operations, ensuring Cambodian children continue to receive essential healthcare.
Leang Rithea, director of the Ministry of Health’s National Dengue Control Programme (NDCP), said that in the first 20 weeks of this year, there were 2,666 dengue cases and five deaths, marking a 100 per cent increase from the same period in 2022, which recorded 1,140 cases and one death.
Rithea said that the NDCP had taken measures to combat dengue fever, including the distribution of 230 tonnes of the powdered insecticide Abate to eliminate Aedes mosquitoes, along with 6,000 litres of mosquito repellent.
Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham, Kandal, Takeo, Tbong Khmum, Preah Vihear, Siem Reap and Preah Vihear provinces reported the highest number of dengue cases, he said.
