According to Doctor Nguyen Minh Tuan, head of Children's Hospital 1's Dengue Fever Ward, these days, all beds in the ward's emergency room have been filled with patients. Most of them are suffering from complications due to being hospitalised late.
Dengue Fever Ward at the Children's Hospital 1
The ward has admitted five inpatients for treatment each day and is treating approximately 60 children with dengue fever.
Dr Tuan predicted that HCM City would see an increase in dengue fever cases in the coming weeks. The city and the southern region have entered the rainy season, and the peak of the dengue outbreak may last until next year.
Meanwhile, HCM City Children's Hospital is facing the same situation. On November 13, the hospital examined 80 children. Over the past two weeks, dengue cases at the hospital have increased by more than 10 percent.
Fourteen children, including five serious cases and one critical case, are currently being treated as inpatients at the hospital.
The HCM City Centre for Disease Control reported that by November 3, the city had recorded 10,600 dengue cases. In the week from October 28 to November 3 alone, the city reported 661 cases, a 21 percent increase compared to the average of the previous four weeks.
People are advised to take the dengue fever vaccine for disease prevention.
Besides dengue fever, HCM City has seen an increase in measles cases. At this time of year, around 35-40 children are admitted to HCM City Children's Hospital daily for measles treatment. More than 90 percent of the patients are from other areas, with many facing complications such as severe pneumonia, septicemia, and enteritis.
At Children's Hospital 2, 82 children have been admitted to the Infectious Diseases Ward since early this month compared to just 52 cases during the same period in October. The total number of dengue cases in October reached 412, up from 120 cases in September.