Guangdong sees 1,552 new dengue cases

South China's Guangdong Province reported 1,552 new cases of dengue on Saturday, local health authorities said Sunday.

The total number of cases has now passed 30,000, according to the provincial health and family planning commission.

Guangzhou, the provincial capital, has reported a total of 25,732 cases and the disease has been detected in 20 out of 21 prefecture-level cities in Guangdong.

Six people have died in Guangdong -- five in Guangzhou and one in the adjacent Foshan City.

More than 90 percent of dengue patients have recovered after treatment, said Yang Zhicong, deputy head of the commission, adding that the outbreak is expected to abate after Oct. 20 as the weather cools.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne, potentially fatal disease that affects between 50 million and 100 million people in tropical and subtropical regions every year, causing fever combined with muscle and joint aches.

Some 23 provinces or regions of China including Zhejiang, Fujian, Yunnan and Guangxi have also detected hundreds of dengue infection cases this year.