A dengue fever patient at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Tạ Nguyên

HÀ NỘI — Dengue strain DENV-4 has been found in Hà Nội, in addition to the circulating DENV-1 and DENV-2 strains, as overall cases continue to rise sharply. 

The city also confirmed one fatality last week, bringing the total of dengue fever deaths to four so far this year, the Hà Nội Centre for Disease Control has said.

Data from the centre showed that the city recorded 3,023 cases of dengue fever as of September 16, about 4.5 times higher than last year.

The centre said that the number of dengue fever cases increased sharply between September 9 and 16 with 760 cases, an increase of nearly 39 per cent compared to the previous week.

The two districts recording the highest number of dengue cases were Bắc Từ Liêm and Thanh Oai.

Last week, 44 new outbreaks were recorded in Đống Đa (7), Bắc Từ Liêm (6), Thanh Oai (6), Hà Đông (5), Hoàng Mai (4), Quốc Oai (3), Long Biên (3), Hai Bà Trưng (2), Thanh Trì (2), Tây Hồ (2), Thanh Xuân (1), Phú Xuyên (1), Gia Lâm (1) and Hoài Đức (1).

The city currently has 118 active outbreaks in 26 districts, including two outbreaks with the highest number of cases in Vực Village, Thanh Liệt Commune, Thanh Trì District with 55 patients, and Bùng Village, Phùng Xá Commune, huyện Thạch Thất with 56 patients.

It is forecasted that the number of dengue fever cases will continue to increase in the city in the coming days, the centre said.

Khổng Minh Tuấn, deputy director of the centre, said there are four serotypes of the virus that cause dengue fever, consisting of DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4.

He said that a person infected with one serotype only gains immunity from that type, but not the rest.

Nguyễn Văn Thường, Director of Đức Giang General Hospital, said people at risk of complications from dengue fever are the elderly, children and people with underlying medical conditions.

In addition, he said cases of high fever or fatigue must be monitored closely.

He said that if a patient has a high fever continuously for many days with rashes and muscle and joint pain, they should urgently visit a medical facility to be examined and treated.

He said people must not arbitrarily treat symptoms with pain relievers and fever reducers because it could lead to serious, even life-threatening complications.

Vũ Thanh Tuấn, Medlatec General Hospital, said people must not abuse drugs such as Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Naproxen sodium and Analgin because these drugs can cause side effects.

If a patient shows serious symptoms, including having abdominal pain and vomiting a lot; being unable to eat or drink; reducing fever but still feeling uncomfortable, or nose and mouth bleeding, they must immediately seek medical attention, he said.

In response to the situation, the city's Health Department has requested localities to strengthen environmental sanitation, kill larvae and spray chemicals on a large scale in high-risk areas where outbreaks occur.

The People's Committee of the city has also sent an official dispatch to the city's Fatherland Front and relevant agencies to ask them to implement activities on environmental sanitation and personal hygiene to prevent and control the disease.— VNS