Yet, many people remain complacent toward this familiar disease.
Unpredictable developments, multiple critical cases
Gia Dinh People’s Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City recently received a 34-year-old patient in critical condition due to severe blood loss on the fifth day of dengue infection. The patient suffered a major liver hemorrhage requiring three surgeries and more than 20 liters of blood transfusions to survive. However, complications progressed to kidney failure, pneumonia, sepsis, and multiple infections.
According to Dr. Pham Thi Thao Uyen from the Intensive Care and Anti-Poison Department, the medical team had to perform continuous dialysis and use advanced-generation antibiotics, yet infection control remains difficult. The treatment process is expected to be prolonged and challenging.
At Ba Ria General Hospital, doctors also saved a 19-year-old patient from Vung Tau Ward who went into shock three times within 24 hours due to dengue fever. The patient is now on mechanical ventilation and under continuous hemodynamic monitoring. Toward the year’s end, the epidemic situation is becoming increasingly severe. Though dengue is a recurring seasonal illness, it continues to strain hospitals and threaten patients’ lives.
According to Dr. Dinh Thi Hai Yen, Head of the Health Education and Communication Department at the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control, the key to community-based dengue prevention lies in spending just 15 minutes each week cleaning and removing water containers where mosquitoes lay eggs. However, she noted that maintaining this behavior consistently is challenging. Many people tend to focus more on treating the illness or using immediate interventions such as killing adult mosquitoes rather than addressing the root causes by eliminating larvae and breeding sites.
According to the Ministry of Health, as of this year, Vietnam has recorded 135,515 cases and 26 deaths from dengue, with the Southern region accounting for over 76 percent of total cases. Compared with the same period in 2024, both infections and fatalities have increased.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, Director of the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, noted that Vietnam remains one of the world’s dengue hot spots, with one of the highest infection rates in Southeast Asia. He emphasized that dengue’s outbreak cycles, timing, and distribution have shifted, and with 2025’s complex storms and floods, the epidemic’s course is expected to be even more unpredictable.
Early forecasting for targeted and effective control
Dengue fever currently has no specific treatment, while public response to vaccination remains hesitant. Resident Tran Thien Ly from Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Duong Ward, admitted that although she knows dengue can be fatal, she has not chosen vaccination due to the high cost over VND1 million per dose. However, experts stress that cost is not the only barrier.
Health professionals believe community prevention efforts have fallen short of expectations, largely due to a sense of complacency toward the disease. A survey of more than 1,000 HCMC residents found that while over 90 percent recognized the danger of dengue and knew its prevention methods, 84 percent still relied mainly on mosquito repellents or incense, with fewer practicing effective measures such as regular water replacement, sealing water containers, or eliminating mosquito larvae.
Professor Vu Sinh Nam, General Secretary of the Vietnam Preventive Medicine Association, emphasized the importance of a proactive prevention strategy. He stated that Vietnam can only control dengue effectively through a multi-pronged approach including vector control, epidemiological surveillance, behavioral communication, evidence-based treatment, and vaccination. Among these, vector control and vaccination are the two key pillars.
“Effective dengue control requires comprehensive coordination between preventive medicine, clinical care, communication, and the community all aiming to reduce infection and mortality rates, prevent major outbreaks, and promote social participation in disease prevention,” Prof. Vu Sinh Nam said.
