Health workers are inspecting a water storage facility (Source:VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Health has established eight inspection teams to supervise and assist dengue-fever prevention activities in 18 localities suffering the most from dengue fever throughout the country.
The move came following a decision recently signed by Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Long after many new cases of dengue fever have been reported in localities including Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai and Kon Tum, An Giang, Dong Thap, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh and HCM City.
Statistics from the ministry’s General Department of Preventive Medicine showed that the number of people that contracted dengue fever in the first six months of this year reached over 44,800, more than 2.5 times higher than the same period last year.
The department has blamed the outbreak on the rainy season in the Central Highlands region.
In the meantime, in other provinces, the El Nino phenomenon was believed to be one of the reasons causing developments of dengue fever, the department said.
El Nino caused drought in many provinces and cities in the first few months of this year, therefore, many households used tanks to store water for daily life, giving mosquitoes more places to lay eggs.
Tran Dac Phu, head of the department, said a lot of jars, uncovered bottles, and old car tyres were found around houses of local residents, creating favourable conditions for mosquitoes to lay eggs.
In response to the situation, the ministry has sent a message to the chairmen of People’s Committees from 10 localities with the highest cases of dengue fever, ordering them to mobilise forces to quickly bring the situation under control.
The ministry says currently, there is no vaccine to protect people against dengue fever. Thus, participation by each individual, managerial agencies and the health sector in each locality is imperative to control the dengue fever outbreak.-VNA
