A medical professional helps a resident take necessary measures to prevent dengue fever at home (Source: VNA) Dong Thap province has the highest number of dengue cases in thedelta, with over 1,000 infected cases, including 72 serious cases and twodeaths, with high rates in Cao Lanh city and the districts of Lap Vo, Cao Lanhand Thanh Binh.
Dr. Duong An Han, director of the province’s Preventive MedicineCentre, said the province had an average of about 50 dengue fever cases perweek.
“People do not care about taking preventive measures. In somecases, patients visit doctors too late thus the infection becomes serious.” hesaid.
Dr. Huynh Minh Truc, director of Can Tho Preventive MedicineCentre, said the city had seen nearly 600 cases of dengue fever since thebeginning of the year.
Can Tho’s Children Hospital has conducted 853 in-patient denguefever treatments from patients both inside and outside the province, and about2,600 out-patient cases, an increase of 10 percent compared to the same period last year.
Dengue fever often occurs in children under aged 15, with 84 percentof total infected cases in Can Tho and surrounding areas.
In Ben Tre province, more than 700 dengue fever cases have beendetected since the beginning of the year, a drop of 20 percent against the sameperiod last year.
However, more dengue infections are spreading through alldistricts in the province, with one death occurring in Giong Trom district’s TanThanh commune.
Ca Mau’s Women and Children Hospital said the number of childrenhospitalised for dengue fever rose against the previous month, with 379 in-patientcases.
The number of dengue cases increased by 148 percent in May and 405percent this month, compared to the same period last year.
Dr. Tran Thien Ly, head of the Ca Mau’s Woman and ChildrenHospital’s Intensive Care and Anti-poison Department, said that dengueinfections over the last two weeks were increasing in number but also inseriousness.
The province has seen three kinds of four types of dengue viruses,with 83.7 percent being the D1 type,according to Tien Giang province’s Preventive Medicine Centre.
Dr. Nguyen Trung Nghia, deputy director of Can Thovity’s Department of Health, said the city People’s Committee and thedepartment had implemented many plans to prevent and control the disease,organising campaigns to kill mosquito larvae in the city.
However, the number of dengue cases is stillincreasing.
Dong Thap’s Preventive Medicine Centre carriedout a second campaign in June and a third in August, killing larvae andspraying insecticides to kill mosquitoes.
Infected patients can be infected again and again, even moredangerous than the previous times.
Nguyen Thanh Long, Deputy Minister of Health, said thatdengue-fever preventive vaccines had not been used in the community as theprice was high and residents doubted the efficacy. Thus, taking preventivemeasures is necessary.
In rural areas, people have a habit of using jugs or tanks to holdwater, which creates favorable conditions for mosquito larvae.
The Ministry of Health has recommended that people cover all watertanks, release fish into water tanks to kill mosquito larvae, replace water inflower vases and remove waste materials.
People should also sleep under mosquito nets in un-airconditionedrooms, wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, co-operate with the health sector inchemical spraying and preventive methods, and immediately visit hospitals ifthey have a high temperature.-VNA
VNA
