Since the beginning of the year, hospitals and medical centers in HCMC have admitted more than 6,000 people infected with dengue fever, rocketing by more than 200% year-on-year, Tuoi Tre Online newspaper reported, citing the municipal Preventive Medicine Center.

Dr Nguyen Thanh Phong, head of the Department D for Infectious Diseases of the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases, examines a dengue fever patient

Two succumbed to the disease while several others have been undergoing dialysis, according to the center.

At the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the number of dengue fever cases has surged by 50% over the same period last year. The hospital received some 1,600 dengue patients last month, up from 600 in the same month last year.

Dr Nguyen Thanh Phong, head of the hospital’s Department D for Infectious Diseases, said that the number of dengue fever cases is extraordinarily high even though this is not the peak season for dengue fever.

Phong said the high season for dengue fever is in October and November. However, the situation is still complicated.

On February 19, the department was crowded with dengue patients, who even filled the hallways.

He advised local residents to visit the hospital as soon as they detect the first symptoms of the disease instead of taking flu medicines bought from drugstores.

In related news, the Mekong Delta City of Can Tho faces the same fate, as the number of dengue fever cases in the city in the year to February 19 was 160, marking a threefold increase over the year-ago period, according to the Can Tho Center for Disease Control.

At Can Tho Children's Hospital, 30 child dengue patients are being treated. The number of patients hospitalized for dengue fever is expected to increase even further, according to Dr Bui Hung Viet, head of the hospital’s Dengue Fever Department.

SGT