HANOI (Vietnam News/Asia News Network): Hanoi has recorded an acute increase in dengue fever cases in the past month, said the municipal Centre for Diseases Control (CDC).
The Hanoi CDC predicts that the dengue fever situation will be complicated in the near future because the epidemic is appearing earlier than in previous years.
The General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health said that this year, Hanoi had 3,180 dengue fever patients, an increase of 5.7 times compared with the same period last year.
The E Hospital receives about 20 cases of dengue fever per day.
At the National Children's Hospital, many children are re-infected.
Dengue fever can change from mild to severe, so patients must be examined and have an appropriate treatment plan.
Every year, dengue fever usually breaks out between October and December in Hanoi. However, this year, the number of cases has increased earlier than normal.
Nguyen Van Dung, head of the Entomology Department under the National Institute of Malaria, Parasitology and Entomology, said that Hanoi could be the country's hotspot for dengue fever due to its high population density and rapid transmission rate.
Cases might continue to increase, especially in hot and rainy weather, which provides good conditions for the development of mosquitoes, he said.
A report from the HCM City Department of Health showed that from the beginning of this year, HCM City has had more than 10,000 cases of dengue fever.
Every day about 40-50 people are hospitalised in the city.
The HCM City CDC said the number of dengue fever cases in the latest week increased by 18.8 per cent compared to four weeks ago.
Districts with a high number of cases include District 1, 8, and Binh Chanh.
Nguyen Minh Tuan, head of the Dengue - Hematology Ward at HCM City Children's Hospital No 1, said that the department was treating about 25 children with dengue fever, of which severe cases account for about 10 per cent.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) said that from the beginning of this year, the country has had 57,295 cases of dengue fever, of which 13 died.
The number of cases and deaths is forecast to increase.
The MoH asked provincial and municipal health departments to strengthen epidemic prevention and control measures.
They should report to local people's committees to arrange and supplement funds for dengue fever prevention.
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