Dengue fever affected 31,100 Vietnamese people in the first eight months of this year, including 27 deaths. The figures include five deaths out of total 8,200 dengue fever patients in Aug, the government’s General Statistics Office (GSO) said. Among the disease-hit localities, Ho Chi Minh City tops the list with more than 6,000 cases, the southern province of Ca Mau with 2,000, An Giang, Dong Nai and Binh Duong southern provinces 1,000 each. In Hanoi, up to 631 people contracted the disease between Jan and Aug, mainly those in the inner districts of Dong Da, Hai Ba Trung and Hoang Mai. The HCM City Pasteur Institute will carry out the final phase of clinical tests on a vaccine against dengue fever next month, Head of the institute Tran Ngoc Huu said, adding that after being tested successfully, the vaccine can be used widely in Vietnam in 2014-15. The vaccine is mean for treating children who are one year old, he added. Dengue fever causes a high number of deaths in Vietnam every year, thus the vaccine plays an important role in reducing them. The average number of such patients is estimated at 25,000-76,000 with 45-111 dead cases per year. (Dat Viet – National Land Sept 8, Lao Dong – Labor Sept 8, Ha Noi Moi – New Hanoi Sept 7)
