Dengue fever spreads across country

ABO/VNA – Vietnam has seen a surge in dengue fever with about 71,000 cases recorded in the first half of 2019, rising more than three-fold year on year, according to the Ministry of Health.

A dengue fever patient reveives treatment at the medical centre of Pleiku city, the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai (Photo: VNA)

Of the cases, nearly 50,000 were reported in 20 provinces and cities in the southern region, 139 percent higher than in the same period last year. They included six deaths.

Ho Chi Minh City had the biggest number of dengue fever cases, almost 24,770, up 176 percent year on year.

Binh Phuoc province also witnessed a surge of 142 percent in the patient number to more than 1,700. In An Giang, another southern province, the number increased 28 percent to over 1,960.

The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak saw more than 3,200 dengue fever cases in the six months, soaring seven-fold from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, dengue fever has also shown signs of spreading in Hanoi, which reported 820 cases during the reviewed period.

Notably, high numbers of patients have been recorded in western districts of the city, including 150 cases in Ha Dong, 88 in Bac Tu Liem, 73 in Cau Giay, 69 in Dong Da and 65 in Nam Tu Liem.

Health experts attributed the outbreak partly to frequent rains in the southern region since June, when dengue fever began to spread fast. They also pointed to the neglect of disease prevention and the migration of labourers from disease-hit areas, which altogether have facilitated the spread of dengue fever.

Meanwhile, the weather condition in Hanoi this week, with temperatures from 26 to 37 degrees Celsius and many rains, is also favourable for the development of mosquitoes – the transmitter of dengue virus. The Hanoi Centre for Disease Control is implementing activities to deal with the outbreak.

(Source: VNA)