The country has recorded 30,000 dengue fever cases including 18 deaths in 50 cities and provinces mostly in the South Vietnam since the beginning of the year, said the Ministry of Health at a press conference in Hanoi yessterday.
Head of the Ministry's Preventive Medicine Department Dr. Tran Dac Phu said that the development of the disease has been very complicated.
However, the upward trend infection cases is still lower than the period of 2009-2013.
Dr. Phu explained that the disease occurs every year and circulates in all cities and provinces and the rise of the disease goes along with the start of the rainy season, said Mr. Phu.
the annual average number of dengue fever cases fluctuates from 50,000 to 100,000. It should be noticeable that it is periodical disease and every 4 or 5 years its outbreak will occur. This year is on the period;
accordingly, medical workers saiđ that more cases would be reported this year
Dengue is an illness caused by a virus that is spread through mosquito bites.Dr. Phu said that virus transmitting the virus of dengue fever have 4 types including D1, D2, D3 and D4. Therefore, a person can re-contract the disease after he is infected with the disease and his condition will be worse in the next illness.
According to the World Health Organization, the disease is circulating in 100 nations in the Southeast Asia, West Pacific, the America, the Africa with around 3.5 billion people living in he affected areas. Every year, it has around 100 million cases of infection and most of them are children under 15 year old and the average mortality due to dengue fever is approximately 2.5 percent to 5 percent.
Till now, there has been no medication and vaccine against the disease so the best preventive measure is mainly to kill mosquitoes that transmit the virus and its larvae. Additionally, to prevent being bitten by mosquitoes that carries the dengue virus during the day and night, people should cover exposed skin by wearing long-sleeved shirts, long pants, and hats.
Noticeably, through investigation, 18 people died of the disease in the year because they were hospitalized late. Instead of going to a medical facility, they treated themselves at home and went to hospitals when their condition was quite bad.
Since the symptoms of the disease is similar to flu; accordingly, people confuse with normal flu; hence, they don't go to medical clinics at early stage.
To prevent the disease, the Ministry warned that people should cover all containers that hold water to prevent mosquito from accessing the water to lay eggs; properly dispose articles that are able to collect water such as empty lunch boxes, cans and glass bottles; change water in vases at least once a week; clear water in saucer of potted plants every week and clean saucers with brushes to remove mosquito eggs or larvae that may attach to the surfaces; wearing long-sleeved clothes and long trousers and sleep in mosquito nets to prevent being bitten and facilitate medical workers in spraying chemical to kill mosquitoes.
When a person experiencing symptoms of dengue fever including fever, bleeding appearing as tiny spots of blood on the skin or bleeding in the gum should go to a nearby hospital for treatment.
