Outside Phnom Penh there is virtually no piped water. People must collect and store water in containers which, if left uncovered, attract mosquitos carrying serious diseases. As many as 600 dengue patients were admitted to the hospital. Some ended up sleeping in corridors and porticos or on floor mats. Many children died because their parents sought treatment too late.
Dengue fever continues to kill thousands of children in Cambodia every year.
Cases increase with the rains in September through May, so during this season the hospital gears up for a 50 percent increase in young patients. Since there is no cure for the disease, the doctors just let it run its course, which usually lasts five to seven days, while applying painkillers and keeping the patient's fever down. During the second or third day of the fever, a child may go into shock. When she failed to regain her strength, he brought her here. If they had waited much longer, she could have died.