1,279 new dengue cases found in Chinese province

China's Guangdong province has reported 1,279 new cases of dengue, health authorities said Sunday, pushing the total number of cases to 20,132.

A casualty was reported Saturday in the provincial capital Guangzhou, bringing the toll to five in the province, four in Guangzhou where 16,966 cases have been reported. The other was in adjacent Foshan city, where 1,912 cases were confirmed, according to the provincial health and family planning commission.

The disease has so far been detected in 19 out of 21 prefecture-level cities in Guangdong, it said.

The Guangzhou municipal government issued a statement Sunday, calling for local residents to eliminate stagnant water where mosquitoes breed and keep a clean environment.

The outbreak of dengue this year is believed to be the worst in 20 years.

Health authorities have attributed the outbreak to high temperatures and wet weather in Guangdong, where the mosquito population is five times the normal level.

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