South Vietnam Faces Higher Risk of Dengue Fever in Rainy Season

Vietnam’s General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health has warned that the number of dengue fever cases has been rising, and that the mosquito-borne tropical disease could be hard to contained in southern Vietnam in this rainy season. The statement was released at a meeting on May 25 which aimed to raise public awareness on the disease through a campaign on dengue fever prevention. Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has seen more than 10,000 dengue fever cases, up 25.4% on year, in 41 provinces and cities, with eight fatal cases, data from the ministry showed. Specifically, the southern region, including Ho Chi Minh City (up 41.9%), Dong Nai (up 74.7%), An Giang (up 62.3%) and Soc Trang (up 67.5%), saw an overall on-year increase of 33.8% in the number of dengue fever patients while the northern and central regions seemed to have contain the disease. The rainy season in Vietnam’s southern region typically spreads from May to November. During the 2008-2010 period, the country reported an average of 100,000 dengue fever cases including 100 fatal cases each year. In 2014, Vietnam marked the sharpest decrease in the number of dengue fever cases, which were at 30,000 with fewer than 30 fatal cases. With more than one-third of the world’s population living in areas at risk for infection, dengue virus is a leading cause of illness and death in the tropics and subtropics, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Nguoi Lao Dong – Laborer May 26 p2)