Break-bone fever epidemic in the Philippines

More than 60,000 cases of dengue fever have been registered in the Philippines since January, a nearly two-fold increase from last year, the country’s Health Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

This year’s dengue death toll exceeds 460, the statement says.Dengue is an acute febrile disease, also known as break-bone fever, which occurs in the tropics and is characterized by a sharp rise in body temperature, headache and hemorrhage.No pharmacological treatment for it has been created so far.