mosquito-borne viral infection is likely to increase as winter rains continue, saidKhaled Al-Zahrani, assistant undersecretary for Preventive Medicine at the Ministry of Health. He said those found infected have left hospital after treatment.

In 2006, dengue fever claimed the lives of 1,314 people. However, there were no dengue deaths in 2007, according to Nabeel Abu Khutwah, an environmental science specialist at King Abdul Aziz University and consultant to Jeddah's mayor.

"The number of cases is lower this year compared to last year when MOH reported some 70 to 80 cases monthly. This month, MOH also detected four cases in Jizan while Makkah was reported free of the disease," Al-Zahrani said.

In Jeddah, the disease is isolated to districts in the east. "The sewage lake that is located about 20 km eastdengue, the treatment is purely concerned with relief of the symptoms.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Jeddah -Starting in April drivers will no longer be allowed to use their mobile phones while on the road in an attempt by the Ministry of Interior to decrease the 5,000 annual traffic related deaths. Violating this new law would result in a fine of up to SR150. Captain Abdullah Al-Qahtani, director of Jeddah Traffic and safety specialist, said the fines would help make the streets of Jeddah safer.

"The new fines would reduce (excess mistakes) that contribute to an increase in traffic accidents and would then increase safety on the road." Al-Qahtani said.

He added that fines were a solution but not the panacea, as we need to assess community response instead of dealing with the