Dengue cases rise at alarming rate

Nguyen Minh Tuan, head of the dengue fever faculty at the Ho Chi Minh City's Children's Hospital No.1, said more than 25,000 cases have been reported nationwide, including 16 deaths.

Six children have died at his hospital, he said, adding that all fatalities were severe cases and they came to see doctors too late.

Tuan said the faculty was treating 102 patients suffering from dengue fever, including 13 severe cases who need intensive care and respiratory support.

He said many people mistake dengue fever' symptoms with other diseases like a sore throat or a viral fever.

He advised people who had a fever of over 39 degrees for more than 2 days to see a doctor for examination.

Do Chau Viet, head of the infection control department at the city's hospital No. 2, said the number of children diagnosed with dengue fever started to rise from the end of July.

Three times as many children have been admitted to the hospital this year compared to the same period last year.

According to the city's preventive health centre, the number of dengue fever infections reached 8,157 by the end of August, an increase of 61% compared with last year.

The centre said the disease is found in areas where virus-bearing mosquitoes develop such as dumps or uncovered water containers.

In An Giang province 1,350 people have contracted dengue fever, an 88% increase over the same period a year ago. Of these, two people have died.

Long Xuyen City, Chau Phu, Cho Moi, Chau Thanh and An Phu were the hardest hit districts, according the province's preventive health centre.

Dengue fever is also on the rise in the Mekong city of Can Tho.

At peak, about 90 children are hospitalised with dengue fever a day, said Bui Hung Viet, head of the faculty at Can Tho City's Children's Hospital.

Dengue fever hot spots have increased by three times from last year's period and are concentrated in districts of O Mon, Thot Not and Co Do.

According to Nguyen Nhat Cam, director of the Hanoi's preventive health centre, as many as 1,537 cases of dengue fever have been recorded in the city, a 3.5 times increase from last year. No fatalities are reported.

Districts with the most cases of infection are Thanh Tri, Hoang Mai, Hai Ba Trung, Ha Dong, Dong Da, Ba Dinh, Thanh Xuan and Hoai Duc.

The number of infections is expected to rise in the coming months as the disease has a cyclical pattern and tends to become very severe after four to five years.

An unusually long rainy season and the resultant humidity might have resulted in the rise of cases of dengue in the city, said Cam.