Medical workers are treating a baby boy having dengue
Doctor Le Hong Nga, Deputy Director of the Center for Disease Control of Ho Chi Minh City , said that the number of dengue cases in Ho Chi Minh City is increasing because dengue fever season is peaking, with a sharp rise in the incidence of the mosquito-borne disease.
Since the beginning of the year, the city has recorded two dengue deaths. It is forecasted that in the coming weeks, the weekly number of dengue cases will continue to increase.
With the approach of the rainy season, dengue started to rear its ugly head again. Without proper preventative measures, it will lead to outbreaks of dengue; therefore, it is important to act quickly to kill mosquitoes. People should look for and dump out any standing water where mosquitoes lay eggs. In addition to preventative measures, early diagnosis, early treatment, and close monitoring are key in combating dengue, said Dr. Nga.
According to statistics at medical facilities in the city, Ho Chi Minh City-based Children's Hospital 1 receives 10-15 dengue children each day; one of them died of dengue. Elsewhere in the city, the City Children's Hospital receives about five to six dengue cases every day, many hospitalized cases were rushed to the infirmary in critical condition; some of them both have Covid-19 and dengue fever.
Dr. Nguyen Minh Tien, the City Children's Hospital has received six children who have both Covid-19 and dengue fever in the past time. He advised parents to take their children to medical facilities for emergency treatment if their children have a fever for more than two days, especially lying in one place without playing, abdominal pain, cold hands and feet, nosebleeds, blood in the gums.
Dengue has spread its wings in the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho with a record of 741 dengue cases in total in the first nine months of 2021, an increase of 54 cases compared to the same period in 2020.
According to Dr. Nguyen Huynh Nhat Truong, Deputy Head of the Can Tho Children's Hospital’s Department of Dengue, the nine-month statistics of dengue has shown that the illness tends to increase slightly compared to that in the same period of 2020. People in the group of 8-15 years old usually contract the disease and severe cases also appeared in this age group.
In addition to ensuring the prevention of the Covid-19 epidemic, Can Tho Children's Hospital still receives dengue patients, and no deaths have been recorded in the city. Some 255 dengue cases were recorded by the end of September, down by 122 cases compared to the same period in 2020 in Soc Trang Province in the Mekong Delta. Twelve of them were seriously ill and one succumbed to the disease.
In the Southern Province of Dong Nai, the number of dengue cases has increased by 51.3 percent over the same period in 2020 since the beginning of the year. Approximately 3,437 of them are children under 15 years old. The number of dengue outbreaks increased by 105 percent over the same period.
Binh Duong Province recorded a 46.3 percent increase in dengue cases over the same period in 2020. Particularly Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province has so far detected nearly 300 outbreaks with 848 dengue cases. Although the number of dengue cases decreased by 35 percent compared to the same period last year. Two residents in Ba Ria- Vung Tau Province died of dengue.
Worse, the Southern Province of Binh Phuoc reported two dengue-related deaths with a 90 percent increase in dengue patients and six deaths..
In Hanoi alone, by the end of September, more than 720 cases of dengue were recorded. The number of infected people tended to increase from the end of August to September with about 60-70 cases a week, while in June-July, only 30-40 cases were recorded weekly. Around the end of September, the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases received 4-5 dengue patients per day.
The Ministry of Health has just sent an official dispatch requesting localities to closely monitor the existing dengue outbreaks and fresh outbreaks in the area to disinfect the locations to prevent the spread and reduce the mortality rate.
According to the latest epidemiological update, from the beginning of the year, more than 50,473 people contracted the disease and 18 died.
After an incubation period of 5–8 days following an infective mosquito bite, the disease begins with a sudden onset of fever with severe headache and any of the following: chills, pain behind the eyes, particularly on eye movement, blood in gums, backache and pain in the muscles, bones and joints. There is no specific treatment for dengue/severe dengue.
