Unseasonable rains lead to rise in rainy season diseases

Illustrative image (Source: tuoitre.vn)

HCM City (VNA) – in southwestern provinces during the
dry season has led to an increase in cases of diarrhoea, dengue fever, and
hand, foot and mouth disease, all of which usually occur during the rainy
season, according to health experts.

The Can
Tho Pediatric Hospital in Can Tho city has recorded about 12,400 cases of
diarrhoea, 500 cases of dengue fever, and 2,400 cases of hand, foot and mouth
disease.

Dr Nguyen
Duc Tri, deputy head of the hospital’s general planning department, said the
number of child patients has risen recently, with an increase of 20 percent in
diarrhoea cases and 23 percent in dengue fever cases and hand-foot-mouth (HFM)
cases against last year.

Dr Ha Anh
Tuan of the Can Tho Pediatric Hospital said that diseases that occurr only in
the rainy season are now more prevalent during the .

Many
patients do not realise that fever is often a symptom of dengue fever and hand,
foot and mouth disease.

As a result, parents purchase medicine at pharmacies and take their children to
the hospital only when the fever becomes more serious.

In the Cuu
Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tien Giang, the number of and hand,
foot and mouth cases has increased slightly compared to the same period last
year.

At the Tien
Giang General Hospital, many beds are shared by two patients, and some beds
have been set up outside rooms.

Dr Do Quang Thanh, deputy head of the hospital’s general planning department,
said the hospital has received about 88 dengue fever cases this year, an
increase of 18 cases against last year.

Dr Hong
Tuan Hoa, deputy director of Soc Trang Pediatric-Obstetrics Hospital, said
there is also a slight increase in the number of patients visiting the hospital
for checkups and treatment.

This year, the hospital has received 870 patients in the internal medicine
department, with 87 percent of them diagnosed with respiratory disease. Of
4,800 outpatients, nearly 50 percent had respiratory disease.

Dr. Duong
Van Ni of the Can Tho University said that global climate change has changed
the normal cycle of two seasons.

Health
prevention should now include measures that will apply in both the dry and
rainy seasons, he said.

The unseasonable rains have created favourable conditions for developing
mosquitoes and diseases.

Tuan of the
Can Tho Pediatric Hospital said the peak season of dengue fever in the past
generally fell from May to November, but the number of cases rose during the
dry season this year.

Dengue fever is transmitted by mosquitoes carrying the virus. In the early
stage, its symptoms include high fever, severe headaches and joint aches, which
can be confused with symptoms of other diseases.

The
disease has potentially dangerous complications such as shock, respiratory
failure, coagulation, liver damage and altered mental status, and can even be
fatal.-VNA