According to the Ho Chi Minh City Health Department, nearly 70 petechial fever cases per week are being treated in the city since the rainy season started.
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| Contaminated living conditions are a risk for petechial fever cases |
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| Nga is constantly concerned that her grand-daughter will be attacked by mosquitoes. |
“The city’s environment is getting worse due to pollution caused by industrial and household waste. As the rainy season has come, the pollution together with stagnant water create favourable conditions for mosquitoes to develop,” said Doctor Nguyen Dac Tho, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City’s Preventive Health Centre.
During the dry season, the outbreak of mosquitoes was attributed to polluted water sources in Rac Lang, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City. Relevant agencies were struggling to control the disease. As rainy season arrived, the whole city is in a fight against the mosqitoes.
Pham Thi Thanh Nga, living on Nguyen Xi Road, Ward 13, Binh Thanh District said, “As the rainy season has approached, there are so many mosquitoes around here. If my hand is near the mosquito net at night, I will wake up with numerous mosquito bites the next morning.”
Nguyen Van Thanh, living on Nguyen Van Quy Road, District 7, Ho Chi Minh City, said that although he cleaned the house and kept it tidy, mosquitoes still fly around him from somewhere. He has used many types of mosquito preventatives but has resorted to work under the net.
Mosquitoes are the main cause of petechial fever and and the majority of patients are found in districts 5, 6, 8, 12, Binh Thanh and Tan Binh.
Many children have suffered from petechial fever. The Department of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever Children’s Hospital always seems to have an abundance of patients.
According to Doctor Le Bich Lien, Deputy Director of the hospital, there have been approximately 70-80 children admitted to the hospital per day over the last week. 60% of them are from Ho Chi Minh City.
Doctor Nguyen Dac Tho added that the number of patients would continue increasing in the future. Under such urgent circumstances, the city’s Preventive Health Centre directed its taskforce in 24 districts to conduct environmental sanitation and mosquito extermination to control and prevent the epidemics.