Health workers spray chemical to kill mosquitoes in Binh Thuan (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Dengue fever
infections could spike nationwide if drastic measures to control the
disease are not taken, the has warned.
According to the ministry, since the
beginning of this year, dengue fever has been reported in almost all localities
in .
By the middle of last month, nearly 30,000
dengue cases had been reported in 58 provinces and cities, of which, three
people in the provinces of Binh Dinh, Binh Phuoc and Tay Ninh died of the
disease.
Up to this week, 12 provinces and cities
across the country, namely Nghe An, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang
Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Ben Tre, HCM City and Hanoi,
reported new dengue cases weekly.
In the last six months, Hanoi confirmed 634
dengue cases in 28 out of 30 its districts and 198 out of 579 communes/wards.
Hanoi’s major dengue outbreaks are Tam Hiep commune
in Phuc Tho district (182 cases), Khanh Ha commune in Thuong Tin district (48
cases) and Thanh Thuy commune in Thanh Oai district (44 cases).
According to the city’s Health Department,
the number of dengue cases of this year is fewer than that in the same period
of last year but in the last few weeks, the number has been increasing.
The central province of Ha Tinh on July 6
announced the first outbreak of appeared in the province this year.
At least six people in Tan Thanh hamlet, Ky
Nam commune, Ky Anh town in the province were confirmed to have dengue, Nguyen
Chi Thanh, vice head of the province’s Centre for Diseases Control said.
The first reported case was a 41-year-old
woman who returned from Quang Binh province which also reported cases of dengue.
Thanh said that as soon as the outbreak was
detected, local authorities cleaned the environment and sprayed chemicals to
kill mosquitoes and local residents were examined at the commune’s health
centre.
The health ministry last week asked
localities to speed up activities to kill larvae to once a week in
high-risk areas where dengue cases were reported and twice a week in areas with
a high density of mosquitoes/larvae.
Doctor Pham Trung Cap, head of the Emergency
Department at the , said dengue
fever had two common complications – a decrease in platelet counts and
dangerously low blood pressure.
When a patient suffered from a low level of
blood platelets, they would not feel fatigued so people easily ignore
their symptoms until massive bleeding appeared. With dangerously low blood
pressure, patients usually felt very fatigued, pain in the liver area,
vomiting and drowsiness lasting for 24 to 48 hours.
Cap said both complications were dangerous to
patients. Bleeding could be seen easily but other complications were hard to
see.
“Finding early warning signals of
complications is very important,” Cap said, adding that patients must go to the
hospital at once when they see symptoms of bleeding, continuously vomiting,
severe stomachache, unconsciousness, cold hands/feet or breathing difficulties.
People who continued having a high fever
after taking medicine should also go to the hospital as soon as possible, Cap
said.
According to the Health Ministry, on average,
Vietnam reports more than 100,000 dengue cases yearly. However, last year,
the number hit 320,331 cases, the highest figure in the last 32 years, with 53
deaths./.
Source: VietnamPlus
