Illustrative image (Source: sggpnews.org.vn)
HCM City (VNA)
– Hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City are seeing more patients with dengue
fever one month before the peak season for the disease.
The Hospital for
Tropical Diseases has admitted 798 patients with the disease since last
month, nearly double compared to the same period last year.
The hospital
currently is treating 151 dengue fever patients, including 25 children. Of
the total, 10 people are on a ventilator in the hospital’s intensive care
room.
Dr Nguyen Thanh Phong
of the hospital said that 20 to 25 patients with dengue fever were hospitalised
in May every day. That number has increased to 70 a day.
The hospital has
added more beds for patients with the disease. Two people
diagnosed with dengue fever died last week, including one adult and
one child.
At Paediatrics
Hospital 1, 50 to 60 inpatients have been hospitalised each day since
early June, including several patients with severe complications.
The city’s Preventive
Medicine Centre said the number of patients with dengue fever
would rise during the rainy season when mosquitoes are more active.
A report from the
city’s Pasteur Institute found that 2,163 patients in 20 southern
provinces and cities were diagnosed with dengue fever last week, an
increase of 4 percent compared to the previous week and up 57 percent against
the same period last year.
Binh Duong province’s
Health Department said the province had nearly 3,000
incidences in the first six months, up 22 percent against the
period last year.
Thuan An and Di An
townships have had the highest number of cases in the province,
accounting for more than 40 percent.
These townships are
home to the large number of people whose accommodations are not stable,
making it difficult for local health officials to control the disease.
In addition, local
residents have not taken preventive measures at their homes to kill
mosquitoes and larvae.
Dr Phong said that
obese children with dengue fever often suffer more than others. Last year,
10 patients at the hospital died from the disease. Of these, half
were obese.
The risk of getting
shock among obese children is nearly 15 percent, while it is 4.6 percent
among non-obese children, he added.
People with diabetes
and hypertension can also experience severe complications when they
contract dengue fever. It can also lead to premature birth among pregnant
women, he said.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
