Thirty Cambodian children have died from dengue fever in the first six months of 2013, down 36 percent compared with the 47 deaths over the same period last year, a health official said Monday.

From January to June this year, about 6,800 dengue fever cases were reported, down 42 percent from the 11,666 cases over the same period last year, said Dr. Ngan Chantha, director of the Dengue Fever Control Program at the Ministry of Health.

"Most of the patients are children aged between 5 and 14," he told Xinhua.

Dr. Chantha attributed the decline in infections and death toll to the ministry's efforts in educating people about the danger of the disease and urging them to sleep under mosquito nets all the time.

Moreover, he said, the ministry has been distributing about 300 tons of Abate, a chemical substance used to put in water pots to kill larvae, to households.

Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. The disease causes an acute illness of sudden onset that usually follows symptoms such as headache, fever, exhaustion, severe muscle and joint pain, swollen glands, vomiting and rash.

The outbreak of dengue fever usually begins at the onset of the rainy season in May and lasts until October.

The country reported 42,362 dengue fever cases last year, killing 189 kids.