From the Editor's Desk
C
ountries in the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions continued to report high incidence of DF/DHF cases. In the South-East Asia Region, of the 11 Member countries, four countries (Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor-Leste) reported high endemicity for DF/DHF. Bhutan, which recorded the first-ever dengue outbreak in 2004, remained rather quiet and only a few cases were recorded in 2005. Nepal also reported its first case of dengue fever in this year. However, more expanded studies are required to confirm the existence of any indigenous foci of DF/DHF. In the Western Pacific Region, Malaysia and Singapore reported large epidemics of DF/DHF. The tsunami, which struck most countries in the South-East Asia Region, created a scare about possible eruption of DF/DHF. However, timely issuance of an alert from WHO, along with guidelines on how to meet the challenge, paid dividends and no unusual case reporting was done by any of the tsunami-affected countries. The current Volume 29 (2005) of Dengue Bulletin includes contributions from WHO's South-East Asia Region (15), the Western Pacific Region (7), the American Region (7) and the European Region (1).
Readers will notice the improved quality of paper and printing that has been introduced with the current issue of the Bulletin. It is our constant endeavour to make the Bulletin reader-friendly. We are also happy to inform our readers that, beginning with this issue, the Bulletin carries an ISSN number, which will help them and libraries around the world in their search efforts for this journal. We now invite contributions for Volume 30 (2006). The deadline for the receipt of contributions is 30 June 2006. Contributors are requested to please follow the instructions carefully while preparing the manuscript. Contributions accompanied by CD-ROMs/diskettes using MS Word for Windows should be sent to the Editor, Dengue Bulletin, WHO/SEARO, Mahatma Gandhi Road, IP Estate, Ring Road, New Delhi-110 002, India, or by e-mail as a file attachment to the Editor at dengue@searo.who.int. Readers desirous of obtaining copies of Dengue Bulletin may contact the WHO Regional Offices in New Delhi or Manila or the WHO Country Representative in their country of residence. Dr Chusak Prasittisuk Regional Adviser, Vector-borne Disease Control (VBC) and Editor, Dengue Bulletin World Health Organization Regional Office for South-East Asia New Delhi, India