Dengue fever in Vietnam fades, but claims more lives
HANOI - Dengue fever in Vietnam, which has eased off since August, killed 73 local people in the first eight months of this year, higher than the total number of deaths causedby the mosquito-borne disease last year. The country detects some 1,500 new dengue fever patients each week in August and early September, down 100 percent against the previous peak months, local newspaper Pioneer on Tuesday quoted the Preventive Medicine Department under the Ministry of Health assaying.
Nearly 45,830 local people nationwide, mostly from southern localities such as the provinces of Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ben Tre, whose weather is most favorable for the development of mosquitoes, were reported to have suffered from dengue fever between January and early September. In an effort to minimize the number of new infections, the ministry has recently launched an urgent program on dengue fever prevention nationwide, supplied localities with more mosquito-killing chemicals, medicines and equipment, and called for local health agencies to raise public awareness of the disease.
Specifically, all residents across Vietnam are urged to focus on killing mosquitoes and their larvae every Friday. The country spends 18 billion Vietnamese dong (1.1 million US dollars) on anti-dengue fever activities this year. Vietnam reported 35,073 cases of dengue fever infections, including 58 fatalities last year, up 48 percent and 45 percent against the year earlier, respectively.
Xinhuanet - September 7, 2004
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