Vietnam Faces Risk of Dengue Fever Outbreak

Vietnam’s General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health has warned that dengue fever, a mosquito-borne tropical disease, is making a comeback across the world this year and Vietnam has recorded an increasing number of patients. Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has recorded more than 10,000 dengue fever cases, up 25.4% on year, in 41 provinces and cities, with eight fatal cases, data from the ministry showed. Specifically, the southern region, including Ho Chi Minh City (up 41.9%), Dong Nai (up 74.7%), An Giang (up 62.3%) and Soc Trang (up 67.5%), saw an overall on-year increase of 33.8% in the number of dengue fever patients while the northern and central regions seemed to have contain the disease. 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. To deal with the threat, the ministry has asked relevant agencies and local authorities to increase healthcare and hygiene to prevent and timely contain any outbreak. With more than one-third of the world’s population living in areas at risk for infection, dengue virus is a leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Thoi Bao Kinh Doanh – Business Times May 18 p8)