The capital city of Hanoi is reporting a dengue fever fatality in a man who lived in the district of Ha Dong, according to a statement by the city department of health on Wednesday, August 2.

The patient, said Hoang Duc Hanh, assistant director, was a 61-year-old Vietnamese male resident who was admitted to a local hospital on July 24. His condition deteriorated and he subsequently passed away two days later.

This is the fifth dengue fever death reported in Hanoi this year, said Mr Hanh, noting the number of cases of dengue citywide year-to-date now stands at 8,982, according to the best estimates available.

Mr Hanh reminded the public that vigilance must be continued to keep dengue cases in check as a sizeable proportion of the population of the city is still susceptible to dengue infection due to the lack of immunity.

In the week leading up to August 1 alone there were 2,305 confirmed instances of dengue fever reported in the capital city. Districts with highest number of cases were Hoang Mai (400), Dong Da (380), Hai Ba Trung (224) and Thanh Xuan (178).

VOV