Dengue fever killed 74 out of total 109,300 affected people in cities and provinces of Vietnam in the first eleven months of this year, said the General Statistics Office. In Nov, the disease killed 19 out of 20,700 affected people, the office added, without giving any comparative figures. The southern region reported the highest number of deaths from the disease in the Jan-Nov period, with 62 out of 64,800 patients, the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute said. The institute added that the disease has spread to 16 out of 20 provinces with rising numbers of fatalities of the epidemic recorded in An Giang, Binh Duong, Ben Tre and Dong Thap. Dengue fever, particularly, has affected more than 2,000 locals in Ho Chi Minh City so far this year. The city’s hospitals reportedly admit 500 new patients per week, up 50% from a year ago. Vietnam has seen increasing numbers of dengue fever patients among adults in recent years, with 37% of total dengue fever cases in 2010, compared to 24% in 2007, the reported indicated. (GSO Nov Edition, Tien Phong Dec 1 p2)
