DAR ES SALAAM, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Minister for Health Ummy Mwalimu told parliament on Friday that the death toll from dengue fever has risen from two in May to four this month as 4,000 people were reported to have been diagnosed with the disease.
Mwalimu told the House in the capital, Dodoma, that the disease has killed three people in the business capital, Dar es Salaam, and one in Dodoma.
The government confirmed dengue fever outbreak in March when it said 11 people were diagnosed with the disease in Dar es Salaam, the official said.
Measures have been taken to contain the spread of the disease, including offering free diagnostic services for dengue fever across all public hospitals and health centers in the east African nation, Mwalimu said.
The Medical Stores Department (MSD) has already bought and dispatched a total of 30,000 test kits for dengue fever to various public health facilities, she said.
On Wednesday, Mwalimu announced the creation of a special task force to fight dengue fever.
The task force is studying the efficacy of pesticides used to fumigate breeding grounds for mosquitoes that transmit the fever, she said.
"Upon completion of the study the team will advise the government whether the pesticides were still appropriate," Mwalimu told parliament.
The worst dengue outbreak in Tanzania was in 2014 when more than 400 people in Dar es Salaam were diagnosed with the disease, which killed at least three, including a doctor who reportedly caught it while attending to patients.
Symptoms of dengue fever typically begin three to 14 days after infection, which may include high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pain, and a characteristic skin rash.
