PHNOM PENH, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia had reported a total of 5,284 dengue fever cases in the first six months of 2018, a 234 percent rise compared with 1,580 cases over the same period last year, according to a dengue fever report on Friday.

The incidence rate was 31.7 cases out of 100,000 people, said the report released by the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control.

The report said the dengue virus killed 10 people during the January-June period this year, up from only one death over the same period last year.

Huy Rekol, director of the National Center for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control, said dengue fever cases spiked according to the seasonal variation of the climate and over 71 percent of the patients were children aged between five and 14 years old.

"The fatal cases occurred (this year) because parents had sent their ill children to hospitals late, or sought medical treatment at private places that made the condition of the disease become more severe, so when they transferred their severely ill kids to public hospitals, it was too late," he said in the report.

He added that parents should send their children to the nearest public hospital within 48 hours after they suspect that their kids are infected with a dengue virus.

Dengue is a viral disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. The disease causes an acute illness that usually follows symptoms such as headache, fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands, vomiting and rash.

In Cambodia, the peak of dengue epidemic period is in the rainy season from May to October.