At Children's Hospital 1, Ho Chi Minh City, these days, the wards have the majority of dengue fever patients, most of the cases are severe, many even requiring ventilators.
According to Dr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Head of the Dengue Fever Department, Children's Hospital 1, compared to the period from January to June 2024, the number of dengue fever cases has shown signs of increasing, but is still lower than the same period last year.
The dengue fever situation in Ho Chi Minh City has increased slightly compared to previous months, but compared to last year's cycle and the average of the past 5 years, it is still low. However, people should not be subjective, especially during the rainy season, when the disease is at risk of a stronger outbreak.
According to Dr. Truong Huu Khanh - Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Infectious Diseases Association, the peak of dengue fever usually falls around October, when there is a lot of rain, leading to a rapid increase in the number of cases, and currently there have been many severe cases.
Dengue fever is an unpredictable disease that can quickly become severe and has a complex prognosis, causing concern for both doctors and patients.
The treatment of dengue fever is laborious, requiring close monitoring, regular medical check-ups, and multiple blood tests. If the patient unfortunately develops multiple organ failure, irreversible shock, or re-shock, treatment will be even more difficult.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), in the 38th week (from September 16 to 22), the city recorded 328 cases of dengue fever, an increase of 8.3% compared to the average of the previous 4 weeks.
The total number of cumulative cases from the beginning of 2024 to present is 7,337 cases. Localities with high infection rates include District 1, District 7 and Thu Duc City.
MSc. Le Hong Nga - Deputy Director of the Center for Disease Control in Ho Chi Minh City warned that dengue fever does not exclude anyone. Most deaths from dengue fever are often due to patients coming to the hospital too late or having warning signs but being ignored, due to confusion with symptoms of other diseases.
Many cases of self-treatment or inviting people to the house for IV therapy lead to dangerous complications.
According to experts, dengue fever has become an annual disease, no longer occurring every 4-5 years as before.
Currently, Vietnam has a vaccine to prevent dengue fever, people should pay attention and get vaccinated to protect the health of themselves and their families.
Characteristics of dengue hemorrhagic fever are fever, bleeding and plasma leakage, which can lead to hypovolemic shock, blood clotting disorders, and organ failure; if not diagnosed and treated promptly, it can easily lead to death.
Dengue virus has 4 types: DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4, transmitted from infected people to healthy people through mosquito bites. Aedes aegypti mosquito is the main intermediate insect that transmits the disease.
