In recent days, Da Nang has reported a significant rise in the number of cases of dengue fever although the weather has been extremely hot without rain. Some medical experts warned that the subjective psychology of people will lead to the probable outbreaks of epidemics.

A doctor giving medical examination to a patient with dengue fever

As of 11 July, a total of over 71 patients with dengue fever had been treated at the Tropical Medicine Department of the Da Nang General Hospital. 50 of them were living in Da Nang.

According to the latest figures released by the hospital, more than 1,300 patients in total with dengue fever were admitted to the hospital for treatment in the first 6 months of this year, a 6.5-fold increase compared with the same period last year.

“In June alone, our hospital received nearly 200 cases of dengue fever, 10 times higher than in the same period last year. The proportion of severe dengue fever cases surpasses the number of people suffering from this disease by 5% set by the health sector's forecast, ” Dr Pham Ngoc Ham, Director of the Tropical Medicine Department, said.

Between January and July, a total of over 3,000 cases of the mosquito-borne viral disease were recorded in the city, a rise of 178% against 2018.

In detail, 821 of the cases were reported in Thanh Khe, 615 in Hai Chau, 307 in Hoa Vang, and 265 in Cam Le, whilst the remainder were in other districts.

Dr Ham remarked there are many reasons for the sharp increase in the number of patients with dengue fever, including the subjective psychology of patients.

“Due to extreme and prolonged hot weather over recent weeks, many people have not slept under mosquito nets, and wear short-sleeved clothes at home. In addition, mild symptoms of dengue can be confused with other illnesses that cause fever, aches and pains, or a rash. This has resulted in the increasing number of dengue fever cases”, Mr Ham added.

In an effort to reduce the number of dengue fever cases, since early July, the Da Nang General Hospital has organised training courses on prevent the spread of infectious diseases, including dengue fever, for patients and their family members.

The municipal Department of Health has urged district-level preventive medicine centres to spray anti-mosquito chemicals at newly-detected hotspots in a bid to prevent the spread of the disease within local population.

The district-level authorities have encouraged their residents to clear up any grassy or bushy areas near their homes, and to remove sources of standing water which can become mosquito breeding grounds.

Most of people have been still subjective with this mosquito-borne tropical disease because the symptoms of dengue fever are quite similar to other common febrile illness. Therefore, people have been advised to bring their family members to hospital for medical examinations and blood tests in order to have exact treatment regimen from the beginning of the disease.