year-old man died of suspected dengue fever at Noor Hospital here Friday after four days of his admission, his family said. Hashim Qassim, who worked for the Hai'a, did not suffer from any illness except what his doctor described as symptoms of ‘dengue fever' including nausea and vomiting when he was examined four days ago at a local health center, his uncle Ahmad Al-Asmari said. He was then transferred to Noor Hospital. The deadly fever hit four people in the past few days in the same Bakhesh District where Qassim was believed to have picked up the fever. The four are still receiving treatment at Hera Hospital. In the last three months, nearly 40 people were diagnosed of suspected symptoms of dengue fever and were treated at King Faisal Hospital in Shishah District. A source at the Makkah Health Department said that all cases admitted into the hospital were only suspected of being infected by the deadly fever. The source did not confirm any death due to dengue fever in the region, however. The outbreak of dengue fever in the Kingdom was reported in 1994. Since then, at least four deaths have been attributed to the deadly fever, with the last one in 2006. Makkah is one of the badly hit regions in the Kingdom with dengue fever due to stagnant and sewage waters becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
