Two news outlets examine outbreaks of dengue fever in India and Cambodia. An outbreak of dengue fever in India “has killed more than 100 people, inundated hospitals with patients and triggered school closures” since February, BBC News reports. “The government says 109 Indians have died from the tropical illness in the first nine months of this year and 38,179 cases have been recorded in total, more than double the number for all of 2011,” the news service writes, adding, “Experts say this year’s early and prolonged monsoon has provided more breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes, who lay their eggs in stagnant water.” The news service notes, “But some have blamed the government for not doing enough to tackle the spread of the disease despite fresh cases being reported year after year” (10/13).

In similar news, GlobalPost reports that in Cambodia, where flooding is perennial, “[m]ore than 100 are dead, roughly 850 square miles flooded and more than 60,000 evacuated from their homes, according to situation reports prepared by United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations.” The news service writes, “To varying degrees, two-thirds of Cambodia’s provinces have been hit by a flooding crisis,” adding, “Severely flooded zones now appear threatened by a rash of diseases, namely dengue fever (borne by mosquitoes, which lay eggs in fetid water), as well as respiratory illness (such as the flu) and … diarrhea” (Winn, 10/13).