A Shenzhen man was found to have caught dengue fever after a trip to Thailand last month, officials with the municipal disease control and prevention center (CDC) told a press conference yesterday.

It is the second case of imported dengue fever reported in the city this year. The first case, reported in early June, was a 27-year-old man who caught the disease in Indonesia. The man has since fully recovered.

In the latest case, the man, 32, is recovering, said the CDC officials. The CDC is still monitoring people who have had close contact with him, and none of them have shown any symptoms.

The CDC has sprayed pesticide in areas where the man works and lives to kill mosquitoes, the main carrier of dengue fever.

The man showed symptoms including fever, sore throat and body aches after visiting his relatives in Bangkok and returning to Shenzhen at the beginning of June.

He went to Donghu Infectious Disease Hospital on June 17 and was diagnosed with dengue fever five days later, said the CDC, which has reported the case to the provincial CDC.

As a hot and humid city, Shenzhen is prone to dengue fever. The CDC reminded people to clear pools of water at home, and wear long-sleeved shirts and full-length trousers when traveling in dengue fever-prone countries to avoid the disease.

In another development, the city reported a sharp increase in the number of influenza cases in June when a total of 23,194 people sought treatment, up 78.85 percent from May, according to the CDC.

The CDC blamed the dramatic changes in weather for the increase.

(Shenzhen Daily July 5, 2007)