Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has asked provinces, cities and relevant sectors nationwide to take drastic measures to stop the spread of dengue fever in Viet Nam.
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| A health worker takes care of paediatric patients with dengue fever. More than 29,000 dengue fever cases are reported in 50 of the 63 provinces and cities nationwide in the first eight months of 2015. |
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has asked provinces, cities and relevant sectors nationwide to take drastic measures to stop the spread of dengue fever in Viet Nam.
In a message released today, he said provinces and cities should launch education and communication campaigns and encourage people to take drastic measures to kill mosquitoes and mosquito larva with traditional methods or chemicals in their homes.
Places at high risk of dengue fever were construction sites, those with a high density of population or water shortage and areas with unhygienic conditions, Dam said.
People with dengue symptoms, such as high fever, headache and pain in muscles or bone joints, should go immediately to hospitals for examination and treatment, instead of doing self-treatment at home.
Provincial health departments have been told to closely monitor the situation to detect and treat the disease early, as well as to limit and control the dengue fever outbreak.
The health ministry has been requested to instruct and inspect localities about supervision and detection, as well as to provide preventive and treatment plans to help localities that were battling dengue fever outbreaks.
Hospital and healthcare units have been asked to prepare enough medical materials and facilities for receiving and treating patients with an aim to minimising fatalities.
The information and communication ministry has been asked to work closely with mass media to provide timely and sufficient information about dengue fever and measures to prevent it from spreading in the community.
Alarming rise
Dengue fever was spreading at an alarming rate in most provinces and cities of Viet Nam, the health ministry's Preventive Medicine Department Director Tran Dac Phu said at a press conference today in Ha Noi.
"The number of dengue fever cases has been increasing, compared with the same period last year. However, it is still lower than the 2009-2013 period," Phu said.
"To date, there are no preventive medicines or vaccines against dengue fever. So the best preventive measures are to kill mosquitoes and mosquito larva and to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes," Phu said.
The health ministry said there were more than 29,000 dengue fever cases in 50 of the 63 provinces and cities nationwide in the first eight months of 2015, compared with 31,000 cases in 2014.
Eighteen people died of dengue fever in 10 provinces and cities, mainly in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces, compared with 20 deaths in 2014.
The outbreaks were mainly in the southern provinces with a high density of population and industrial parks such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Long An and Ba Ria- Vung Tau, besides HCM City.
(Source: VNS)
