HCM City to host Dengue Fever Day

Organised by the Ministry of Health, the day's events are expected to attract 3,000 attendees.

ASEAN Dengue Day is an advocacy event agreed upon during the 10th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting in 2010.

Since 2005, dengue fever has become one of the most important public health problems receiving international attention, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Asia Pacific region bears 75% of the global burden. In the Western Pacific region, 31 out of 37 countries and areas have reported dengue fever cases in the past two decades.

In the world, 50-100 million cases are estimated each year.

Dr Le Hong Nga of the city's Preventive Health Centre said that residents would be encouraged to destroy containers with mosquito larvae inside and near their home.

In May, the city recorded 394 cases, a drop of 23% against April.

However, since the beginning of the year, the total number of cases increased by 1,327 compared to the same period of last year. A total of 4,532 cases have been reported.

In the first five months of the year, the southern region saw a 29% increase in dengue fever cases.

Rise in cases

Ha Noi has reported 104 dengue fever cases since the beginning of this year, recording an increase of 62 cases compared with last year.

However, no casualties were reported so far, according to the Ha Noi steering committee on disease prevention and control. All the patients came from 19 of 30 districts in the city.

Nguyen Nhat Cam, director of the Ha Noi Preventive Medicine Centre, said the number of cases has been forecast to increase in the following months and reach the highest in October and November, the disease season.