A dengue fever patient is treated at a Hanoi-based hospital. (Photo: anninhthudo.vn)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Dengue
fever in Hanoi has dropped since last month, down 95.8 percent against the same
period last year, but the risk of contracting the disease is still high, warned
Dr Nguyen Nhat Cam, Director of the city’s Disease Control Centre.
Environmental pollution in the
city with various wastes, an increasing number of construction sites and poor
sanitation at the temporary housing of labourers was creating favorable
conditions for the to spread dengue fever, he said.
Over the last few months, the
weather in Hanoi and the northern provinces has included prolonged
rains so there was a high risk of an epidemic.
“Ponds and rainwater tanks, if
they aren’t cleaned, will become a very favorable environment for mosquitoes to
spread ,” Cam said.
“Compared to this time last year,
the number of dengue fever cases in the city decreased sharply. In early
October in 2017, there was a dengue fever epidemic happening in Hanoi.”
However, if local authorities and
people in areas where outbreaks of the disease occurred previously didn’t take
precautionary measures, there was a risk of another outbreak, the director
warned.
Dengue fever is a frequent
disease in Hanoi, with an average of 5,000 cases recorded annually. But in
2017, the city recorded over 37,000 cases.
In recent months, many children
and students in city have contracted dengue fever, the city Health Department
reported. Now there are 149 cases being treated at health centres but so far,
no deaths.
Cam said each family needs to
raise awareness of disease prevention by ensuring a clean environment and
limiting the development of mosquitoes.
More than 28,000 households, 24
construction sites and 70 public places in Hanoi have been chemically treated
to prevent dengue fever from spreading.
The Health Department organised
training courses for 65 mobile teams on disease prevention.
“Thanks to the role of mobile
teams, the city can quickly detect new cases and implement timely measures to
localize and stamp out the epidemic,” Cam said.-VNS/VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
