MEKONG DELTA — A significant increase in the number of patients hospitalised for dengue fever was reported in the Mekong Delta region two months prior to the virus' peak season, health experts have said.

Statistics from An Giang Province's Preventive Medicine Centre showed that as of yesterday, more than 1,180 people have contracted the disease, including three deaths and 240 patients with very serious symptoms.

The number of dengue fever patients in the province is 1.6 times higher than the same period last year. Nine out of the province's 11 districts have reported patients hospitalised for treatment, according to the statistics.

Figures from Dong Thap Province's Preventive Medicine Centre revealed that more than 800 people have been stricken with the mosquito-born disease so far this year, including two fatalities, an increase of 360 cases compared to the same period last year. Eight hundred cases and one death have been reported in Tien Giang Province.

Deputy Director Vo Huy Danh of An Giang Province's Preventive Medicine Centre said the disease had spread widely in both urban and rural areas, and that an increasing number of dengue patients were expected in coming months.

There was currently not a remedy for the disease and implementing prevention measures was the best method to protect health and avoid a breakout of the disease, he said.

Danh said the centre has sprayed chemicals in two communes that showed signs of the epidemic and a campaign has been launched to encourage people to kill mosquitoes around their homes.

A team of health counsellors planned to go to 15 high-risk communes to deliver advice to local residents about the prevention of dengue fever and a hotline was established to give timely assistance, Danh said.

Dr Luu Thi Thu Ha, head of Dong Thap Province's Preventive Medicine Centre's Contagious Diseases Unit, said the department would spray chemicals at schools and public places in the four ‘hot' districts of Thap Muoi, Chau Thanh, Cao Lanh and Sa Dec. — VNS