HCMC – Dengue fever has raised great concern in HCMC this year, as southern provinces and HCMC, over the past few weeks, have seen severe cases and deaths soaring.
Data released yesterday, 22 April, by the HCMC Department of Health showed that the city had reported nearly 4,500 dengue cases, with 109 severe cases now under treatment at local hospitals as of mid-April, the local media reported.
This is alarming data as the dengue epidemic in 2019 saw only 38 of over 20,000 dengue cases getting worse. This year, the number of new dengue cases has been rising and remains higher than the 2020 and 2021 figures.
Given an upsurge in severe dengue cases, local health experts said the actual number of cases in the community could be much higher than that of confirmed cases. In HCMC, two deaths linked to dengue fever have been reported due to late detection and hospitalization.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, head of the HCMC Pasteur Institute, said the current development is on par with the cycle of the dengue epidemic, an endemic in HCMC and southern provinces.
Associate Professor, Dr. Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the HCMC Department of Health, asked the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases, three major pediatrics hospitals in the city, and the HCMC Center for Disease Control to provide refresher training on the issue for local medical facilities across the city, in order to detect the disease early and avoid delay in providing medical treatment.
The district-level authorities were urged to adopt dengue fever prevention and control measures and impose fines on violators.
