With a dengue case count of over 20,000 just in the first 6 months this year, HCMC is faced with a severe outbreak. Thousands of hot spots of the disease have been detected throughout the city that can result in an even more dangerous situation.
Binh Tan District has more than 1,370 such spots while having to treat nearly 1,800 cases. District 12 is also taking care of 1,447 inpatients out of its 2,167 cases. District 8 now has 1,633 hot spots of dengue to eliminate. Hoc Mon District has 107 official hot spots and 925 potentially risky ones, along with its 1,451 inpatients.
One of the major reasons for the outbreak this year is the carelessness and neglect of residents and the local authorities as well. In densely populated areas around HCMC, citizens are not taking care of possible containers of mosquito larvae like water jars, plastic bottles used as feeders for livestock and poultry, and water puddles at suspended construction projects.
Deputy Director of the HCMC Department of Health Nguyen Huu Hung stated that since the beginning of this year’s dengue outbreak, his department has sent many inspection teams to all districts and Thu Duc City to check the implementation of disease prevention measures. Sadly, there are still several locations with neglected people who do not destroy possible containers of mosquito larvae.
Doctors warn that dengue has various mild to severe symptoms that could lead to death. In most cases, dengue patients can recover by themselves, but serious cases should be sent to hospital for medical monitoring. Doctor Nguyen Minh Tien from HCMC Children’s Hospital shared that parents of children infected with dengue should be cautious when their child shows sign of continuous high fever of 38-400C and headache, tiredness.
Also, from the 3rd-6th day of the disease, if their child has the signs of worsening like repeated vomiting, abdominal pain, irritability, crying, cold hands and feet, sweating, abstaining from eating and drinking, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, vomiting blood, black stools, vaginal bleeding in girls, these children need immediate hospitalization.
The HCMC Health Department warns that as dengue is coming to its peak, private clinics and grassroots hospitals strictly follow the guidelines for diagnosis, treatment to timely transfer severe cases to higher-leveled hospitals.
In related news, Binh Phuoc Province so far has recorded 2,200 dengue cases, an increase of 48 percent compared to last year, with 3 deaths who were children under 15 years old in Phu Rieng District and Dong Xoai City. The outbreak also comes from the carelessness of citizens in applying disease prevention measures.
