More than 100 scientists and experts in dengue control from ASEAN member countries gathered at a seminar in Hanoi on June 14 to exchange experience in combating this disease.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said that dengue is one of public health issues drawing the most attention in developing countries, especially those in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Vietnam.

Dengue fever is an urgent matter requiring regional and global cooperation to raise the community’s awareness of and to strengthen collaboration of countries in fighting the disease, Long added.

The fever is now reported in more than 100 countries, with about 2.5 billion people living in dengue-endemic areas. Of which about 1.8 billion are living in the Asia-Pacific region, accounting for 70 percent of the region’s population.

In recent years, Vietnam recorded between 50,000 to 100,000 dengue cases, with nearly 100 deaths each year.

The seminar heard about 15 reports, focusing on enhancement of regional cooperation in dengue fighting, and dengue prevention capacity, as well as increase of the sustainability of prevention activities involved by the community.

It also called for an appropriate coordination between public and private healthcare sectors and other sectors, including research and development of a vaccine against this disease.-VNA