[뎅기열] The number of cases is almost the same as in 1998, the year of the increase, the worst.

The number of dengue cases recorded so far in Vietnam this year is only slightly lower than in 1998, the worst year of dengue infection.

The situation is even more concerning as the domestic medical field has already weakened as COVID-19 continues and the virus has been found in more regions.

In a Friday conference on dengue prevention and eradication in Ho Chi Minh City, Dr Luong Chan Quang, of the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, said the figure was just below the figures recorded in Vietnam. in 1998, when 300,000 cases and 400 deaths were recorded.

Vietnam has reported more than 211,000 cases of dengue fever so far this year and 87 cases have died, 4.3 times the number of cases over the same period last year, and the number of deaths has increased by 68.

He said climate change and rapid urbanization are affecting the habitats of the Aedes mosquito, a major vector of the dengue virus this year, so the virus may have emerged in more areas than ever.

For example, in Lam Dong province in the central highlands, no cases of dengue have been recorded, but this year is different, he said.

One of the other reasons for the high number of dengue deaths this year is the lack of health workers.

In Ho Chi Minh City alone, 400 medical personnel from the Ho Chi Minh Regional Medical Center have resigned after the recent COVID-19 outbreak that lasted from June to October last year. These are the people at the forefront of the fight against the epidemic. In most cases, they reported quitting due to overhead and low earnings.

Meanwhile, many regions lack sufficient funds to monitor and prevent the spread of the disease. Some people don’t even have the chemicals to spray and kill mosquitoes on breeding grounds, Quang said.

“After nearly three years of fighting COVID-19 in Vietnam, Vietnam is exhausted both in terms of budget and manpower,” said Dho Thi Hong Hien, head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Vietnam.

“There is a serious imbalance between these resources and the real needs of patients,” he said.

Nguyen Thanh Hung, director of the No. 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, said 10 to 30 percent of dengue cases are at risk of becoming serious if not detected early. Once symptoms become severe, patients rapidly develop fatal symptoms, especially in children under one year of age, obese people, pregnant women, and people with other chronic conditions.

“In most cases, it was found that dengue patients and their families ignored the warning signs, which could make the disease serious without their knowledge,” said Pham Van Quang, a team leader in the unit. intensive care 1 of the Ho Chi Minh City Children’s Hospital. .

Quang told VnExpress that most patients choose to be treated at home due to high body temperature, the most common early symptom of dengue. After the fever subsides, people assume they have already recovered.

However, in the case of dengue, the period after the high fever is more important, he said, and patients should be closely monitored at each stage.

Vietnam has worked to find effective ways to treat dengue, which is a major cause of 28 common epidemics Vietnam is facing. The only vaccine available worldwide is not recommended for people who have not previously had dengue.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said in January that the incidence of dengue fever worldwide has increased dramatically in recent decades, with most cases asymptomatic or mild and self-managed, resulting in an underestimated number of cases. of dengue.

The number of dengue cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) has increased more than eight times in the past 20 years, from 505,430 cases in 2000 to 2.4 million in 2010 and 5.2 million in 2019. Between 2000 and 2015, the number of reported deaths jumped from 960 to 4,032, primarily affecting young people, the report said.

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