Dengue fever has placed a significant burden on Vietnam's healthcare system for more than four decades. Since 1980, the country has recorded hundreds of thousands of cases annually, with deaths reported every year.
Hoang Minh Duc, director of the Department of Disease Prevention (Photo: Anh Vu).
Vietnam has one of the highest dengue incidence rates per 100,000 people among infectious diseases, ranking first in incidence and second in mortality within the country's infectious disease category.
In 2025, nearly 185,000 dengue cases were reported nationwide. The disease has spread beyond areas where it has long been endemic, reaching several northern mountainous provinces, including Tuyen Quang and Son La, where cases were previously uncommon.
Speaking at a conference on applying scientific advances to comprehensive dengue management, organised by the Department of Disease Prevention under the Ministry of Health on November 6, its director, Hoang Minh Duc, said Vietnam had recorded more than 170,000 cases and 21 deaths in the first 10 months of the year.
Dengue remains endemic, requiring the health sector to conduct surveillance, prevention and outbreak response activities across multiple localities every year.
Duc expressed concern that despite years of resource mobilisation, the implementation of technical measures and support from domestic and international experts, the disease remained far from being controlled as effectively as expected.
For many years, prevention efforts have focused primarily on eliminating mosquitoes and their larvae, as well as monitoring epidemiological indicators. Duc said these measures remained essential but should be complemented by updated preventive solutions.
He also highlighted dengue vaccination as an area of growing interest for the health sector, noting that vaccines are among the key tools in disease prevention.
Dengue no longer follows a clear seasonal pattern
Professor Nguyen Van Kinh, former director of the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, said dengue remained a major public health burden in Vietnam and was likely to persist for years to come.
Following the 2022 outbreak, reported cases continued to rise significantly. More notably, the disease was no longer following the distinct seasonal or cyclical patterns observed in the past, he said.
Climate change is among the factors contributing to this shift, as changes in rainfall create more favourable conditions for disease-carrying mosquitoes to breed. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes typically lay their eggs in stagnant water, including containers that collect rainwater.
Kinh said the clinical progression of dengue was highly complex, varying according to an individual's immune response, age and underlying medical conditions.
Another challenge is that many people infected with the dengue virus show no clinical symptoms. According to Kinh, more than 90 per cent of infected people may remain asymptomatic. However, they can still contribute to transmission if bitten by mosquitoes, which can subsequently spread the virus to others.
Completely eliminating mosquitoes and their larvae is also difficult. As long as the virus and its vectors remain present, the disease will continue to pose a risk of transmission.
There is currently no specific antiviral treatment for dengue. Medical care focuses primarily on managing symptoms, closely monitoring patients and promptly addressing complications, particularly shock.
The main treatment objective is to prevent patients from developing severe disease, manage shock and support their recovery.
