Bangkok: Health authorities in Thailand are urging young women not to wear fashionable black leggings to avoid attracting unwanted attention from dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
"It's worrying how people dress nowadays, especially the youth," Deputy Health Minister Pansiri Kulanartsiri said in a statement issued Sunday, which warned of a dengue outbreak and reminded that mosquitoes are attracted to dark clothing.
Thailand has recorded 43 deaths and more than 45,000 cases of dengue in the first seven months of the year, an increase of about 40 per cent from the 31,929 cases and 30 deaths in the same period last year. Dengue cases typically rise during the rainy season, which runs roughly from June through September.
Of this year's fatalities, 26 were between the ages of 10 and 24, prompting the Public Health Ministry to warn about the hazards of the must-have fashion item worn by girls and young women.
"I suggest people avoid wearing black leggings, or any dark coloured clothing, so as not to attract mosquitoes," Pansiri said. He called the leggings a "Korean fashion phenomenon".
