HCM City see rising severe dengue fever cases
According to a report from the municipal health department, nearly 4,500 dengue fever cases were confirmed in the first four months of this year, which showed a slight decrease compared to the same period last year.
"However, 109 patients suffered from severe cases, which represented an increase of 354 percent on year," the report said. "There were two fatalities. Some localities that saw larger numbers of patients, including District 12, Binh Tan, Binh Chanh, and Hoc Mon."
The health department has been asked to plan for treating patients while districts with rising cases need to take drastic measures to prevent bigger outbreaks and mitigate deaths.
Reports from local hospitals showed that most of the severe cases were caused by a delay in hospital admissions and improper or late treatment at home.
Initial symptoms of dengue fever are quite similar to some viral infections, especially the onset of the disease can sometimes be the same as that of Covid-19. Many parents have mistaken the symptoms of the disease for Covid-19, leaving their children untreated or treated improperly.
Nguyen Dinh Qui, Deputy Head of the Infectious Diseases Department of Children's Hospital 2, said the number of children with severe dengue had increased significantly compared to the same period of last year.
"The rate of dengue among children had increased 2-2.5 times," Doctor Qui said. "Notably, severe cases accounted for about 10 -15 per cent of the total. Severe cases were between 5 and 14 years old. Many serious patients have suffered from multi-organ damage and had to use ventilators or require dialysis."
Qui said there was a sharp decline in cases of mosquito-borne dengue fever last year due to Covid-19-related restrictions on people’s movements and interactions.
This year, the early rainy season led to the possible early outbreak of dengue fever, he added.
Explaining the upsurge in the disease, Trương Hữu Khanh, vice president of the HCM City’s Union of Infectious Diseases, said that the dengue epidemic occurred every four to five years, and this year was expected to be an outbreak year.
The new normal, after a long time of Covid-19 restrictions, and the early rainy season had also contributed to the outbreak.
Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the city’s Department of Health, said the department had asked all hospitals to conduct training and be alert to early identification of dengue fever.
