Five have now died in Vietnam in this year’s epidemic of dengue fever, with the latest victim dying in the capital city Hanoi last week as the numbers of those infected climb over rates reported last year, state media said on Wednesday.
The latest victim, a 61-year-old man living in the Quang Trung ward of Hanoi’s Ha Dong district, was hospitalized on July 24 and died two days later, health officials said, according to media reports.
Nearly 9,000 cases of dengue fever have now been reported in Hanoi since the beginning of the year, with 2,300 reported from July 24 to 30 alone, state media said.
Meanwhile, in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, nearly 12,000 cases have been reported since the beginning of the year, with four of this year’s five recorded deaths occurring there.
From the beginning of this year through July, there was a 23 percent increase in cases in the city over the number reported during the same period last year, while 46 percent more cases were reported in July than in June, the city’s health department said on August 2.
Cases are now also being seen in northern Vietnam’s Ha Nam province, though no deaths have been reported there, provincial authorities said.
Dengue fever is caused by a virus transmitted by mosquitoes, with symptoms including fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash.
There is no vaccine for the disease, but it is treatable through rehydration or by blood transfusions in more severe cases.
Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese Service. Translated by Emily Peyman. Written in English by Richard Finney.