Ho Chi Minh City reported a year-on-year decrease of 36 percent in the number of dengue fever cases in the first seven months of 2018, however recently recording its first death caused by the disease this year.

Doctor Nguyen Tri Dung, Director of the municipal Preventative Medicine Centre, revealed the information on July 30.

He cited the centre’s statistics as saying that between 350 and 450 people are hospitalised due to dengue fever each week.

Although the number of new cases posted a reduction, the disease is forecast to break out in the near future as the city has entered its rainy season, with the disease reaching its peak in October or November, Dung stated.

Therefore, the municipal health sector has carried out drastic measures, including launching a campaign to kill mosquito larvae, and calling for locals to respond to ASEAN Dengue Day (June 15).

The city has to date controlled and eliminated a lot of high-risk areas containing larvae. However, new areas will spring up in the rainy season.

Locals should be aware of killing larvae in their home, including in aquariums, flower vases, and other water containers. 

Last year, dengue fever hospitalised over 20,000 locals, killing six. –VNA