A child patient at Ca Mau Maternity - Pediatric Hospital

In previous years, dengue often broke out from June to August and hit its peak from September to November. However, this year, dengue fever has already spread quickly across Vietnam.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that 71,000 cases were reported in the first six months, tripled the number of infected cases last year. Hanoi has reported over 1,500 cases in 30 districts since early 2019, of which 162 cases were in the previous week alone. Quang Tri Province is the hardest hit in the north-central coast provinces as over 400 cases were reported in Huong Hoa District.

Dengue fever also spread quickly in the southern region with 50,000 cases in the first six months, increased by 139% on last year. HCM City leads the list of provinces and cities with the highest number of patients, followed by Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai. The number of reported cases in HCM City was 24,758, increased by 176% compared to last year. Binh Phuoc had 1,700 cases, increased by 142%.

Thousands of cases have also been reported from Kien Giang, Ca Mau and Bac Lieu provinces. Many patients in Bac Lieu are children and had only been admitted in June.

Hospitals in HCM City are overloaded. The Hospital for Tropical Diseases said that 83% of their patients were adults. As of now, there has been one fatality and the hospital is treating 151 patients, of which 10 were in critical condition.

Nguyen Tri Dung, director of the Centre for Preventive Medicine in HCM City said they had received 2,300 cases and two patients had died. Tu Quoc Tuan, director of An Giang Department of Health said 1,541 cases had been reported. They have asked local hospitals to monitor the patients and detect new outbreaks.

Hoang Duc Hanh, deputy director of Hanoi Department of Health said erratic hot and cold weather with rains had created the ideal environment for dengue fever to spread. Both the local authorities and the public hadn't taken the situation seriously enough and needed to boost preventive measures against dengue fever.

Nguoilaodong/Dtinews