Health Minister Nguyen Quôc Trieu has instructed health departments and relevant authorities in central flood-hit areas to carefully watch for and prevent an outbreak of flood-related diseases.

He asked local health departments to focus on post-flood diseases, including dengue fever, acute diarrhoea, and skin diseases to prevent them from spreading.

Trieu instructed local health departments to look into building health clinics on stilts in order to minimise damages from flash floods and heavy downpours.

He highlighted nine health clinics that are currently operated by local army divisions and people and agreed to provide VND300 million (US$15,300) to each so they can upgrade their medical equipment and facilities.

Local authorities proposed the purchase of sterilisation machines for flood-prone areas to facilitate timely distribution of Chloramine B to submerged households to give them access to clean drinking water.

Transportation systems designed specifically for use during the rainy seasons were needed to transfer patients in serious conditions to central hospitals for treatment, he said.

Dengue fever

Preventive medicine centres reported that dengue fever has broken out in many central areas recently.

In Nghe An Province's Dien Chau District, 32 people were reported with the mosquito-borne fever in recent days. The province's Nam Dan, Quynh Luu and Nghi Loc districts also reported several cases.

Nghe An Province's Health Department has asked relevant agencies to help prevent the spread of dengue by spraying chemicals and cleaning up areas where mosquitoes could breed.

Dr Ton That Thanh, head of the Da Nang City Preventive Medicine Centre, said the fever had hit many districts including Hai Chau, Son Tra, Thanh Khe and Lien Chieu, with 3,500 cases reported since the beginning of this month, five times more than the same period last year. One person had died from the fever, he said.

Hospitals and health clinics in the worst-hit districts of Da Nang couldn't find enough beds to cope with the growing number of dengue cases.

The Preventive Medicine Centre in Quang Nam Province said the number of dengue case was increasing to around 1,300 patients. On average, three patients are being forced to share one bed at the provincial general hospital.

The Ministry of Health has provided 200 litres of chemicals and 28 sprayers to the flood-hit provinces. The ministry's Trade Union also provided VND220 million ($11,220) to these provinces. — VNS

From Vietnamnews