Vietnam Central Province Sees 5-fold Rise in Dengue Fever Cases YTD

Vietnam’s central coastal province of Khanh Hoa has recorded nearly 5,500 dengue fever cases in the year to date, up over 5-fold from the whole year of 2014, according to the local health department in a meeting on Nov. 19 with the provincial People’s Committee. Since early this year, local authorities have detected 319 disease hotspots, with a drastic surge seen from mid-September. Of 170 serious dengue cases, two people have died. The fast outbreak has caused overload at many local hospitals. At this rate, the provincial health department predicted that Khanh Hoa will likely have 10,000 dengue fever cases by the end of this year, the highest number ever. The province has spent over VND2.3 billion ($102,350) on dengue fever prevention since the beginning of this year. According to the Ministry of Health, as of Oct. 19, Vietnam had total 51,858 dengue fever cases in 54 provinces and cities, with 32 deaths. Of the total infections, 78.9% were children under the age of 15 while female patients accounted for 83.3%. The outbreaks concentrated mostly in the central and southern regions, with between 50,000 and 100,000 people affected by dengue fever a year. During the 2008-2010 period, the country reported an average of 100,000 dengue fever cases including 100 fatal cases each year. In 2014, Vietnam marked the sharpest decrease in the number of dengue fever cases, which were at 30,000 with fewer than 30 fatal cases. (tintuc.vn Nov 19, vietnamplus.vn Nov 19, vnexpress.net Nov 19)