Phnom Penh, June 11 : Cambodia has reported 1,354 dengue fever cases in the first five months of 2022, up more than 100 per cent compared to the same period last year, the Health Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. The disease killed three children during the January-May period this year, the Ministry said, adding that the increase in precipitation in the early rainy season was attributed to the surge in dengue fever cases, reports Xinhua news agency. Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted through the bite of an Aedes mosquito which is a day-biting mosquito. Health Minister Mam Bunheng called on people to fill in puddles around their houses, saying that they are the sources of mosquitoes, and advised them to sleep under mosquito nets all the time. He said the Ministry would continue distributing the anti-dengue mosquito larvicide Abate to households living in affected areas. "Parents must bring their children to the nearest public hospitals or health centres, not later than 72 hours if their children have acute fever," Bunheng said. "Please don't try to treat the disease by yourselves, nor seek treatment from unauthorized medical practitioners." Dengue fever causes an acute illness that usually follows symptoms such as headache, high fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands, vomiting and rash. In the southeast Asian nation, the peak of the dengue epidemic period is in the rainy season from May to October. /IANS