Dengue, the mosquito-borne illness that claimed the lives of more than 400 Cambodian children, has proven to be less of a menace so far this year, English-Khmer language newspaper the Cambodian Daily said Friday.

From January through May 2008, Cambodia has seen 2,156 cases of the virus and 23 deaths, Ngan Chantha, national dengue program manager at Ministry of Health, told the paper.

That compares to 20,836 cases and 256 deaths in the same period of time last year, it added.

"Now, it is quite better if compared to last year," said Chantha.

While nearly every province was affected in 2007, this year's outbreaks have been more isolated, and cases have also been linked to a different strain of the virus, he said.

Chantha attributed this year's improved outlook to increased health awareness and prevention efforts after last year's epidemic, which was the worst in nearly a decade and led to some 40,000 cases overall in Cambodia.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2008)