Dengue Fever Affects 7,200 Vietnamese in Jan-Mar: GSO

Dengue fever has sickened 7,200 Vietnamese people in the first three months of this year, killing five people, the government’s General Statistics Office (GSO) said. In Feb, the country recorded 2,600 dengue fever patients with one death, compared to 1,900 sufferers and no death in Jan, the GSO added. However, such disease often results in the high death rate in Vietnam every year. The average number of such patients is estimated at 25,000-76,000 with 45-111 deaths per year, experts said. Notably, hand-foot-mouth disease is ravaging in all 63 provinces and cities, with 14 deaths out of nearly 18,000 infections amid no move from the ministry announcing it as an epidemic. The country also reported two mortalities among 12 people contracting meningococcal meningitis while 68 others contracted viral encephalitis and no one with A/H1N1 influenza virus.  There have been two fatalities caused by the A/H5N1 influenza virus along with an increase in patients with heart and lung problems in the first weeks of 2012 due to the prolonged cold spells in North, which has facilitated the outbreak of many epidemics.  Local health authorities have warned people of the risk of these diseases and urged to set up anti-epidemic teams to stop the further spread. (GSO Mar Edition)