HÀ NỘI — The spread of dengue fever has begun showing signs of slowing down in Hà Nội, which recorded a huge number of patients over the past few months, according to the Hà Nội Department of Health.

Hà Nội was second nation-wide after HCM City in terms of the number of infections, reported the department at a meeting with the Ministry of Health on Thursday.

It added that from January 1 to August 16, the capital city recorded dengue in 17,027 patients, seven of whom died.

Last week, the city recorded 3,440 new cases of dengue fever, seven less than the previous week, meaning that the spread of the dengue fever showed signs of a slowdown, according to the department’s Deputy Director Hoàng Đức Hạnh.

The outbreak has struck 12 districts in Hà Nội, namely Đống Đa, Hoàng Mai, Hai Bà Trưng, Thanh Xuân, Hà Đông, Cầu Giấy, Thanh Trì, Ba Đình, Nam Từ Liêm, Thanh Oai, Thường Tín and Hoàn Kiếm.

Hạnh said these districts had been placed on red alert for dengue fever. About 92 per cent of dengue patients are from these areas.

As it had been raining often in Hà Nội, it was difficult to use measures to control the disease, Hạnh said.

From now until the end of August, the city plans to conduct a large-scale anti-mosquito spraying campaign, focusing on crowded areas such as markets, schools, construction sites, abandoned plots and houses. Residents will be informed before the activity is undertaken.

In areas with a lot of traffic, large spraying machines will be used at night, while small sprayers will be used at households in the daytime. Hà Nội has been supplied with 30 small spraying machines and 300 litres of chemicals for the campaign.

Trần Đắc Phu, head of the ministry’s preventive medicine department, said the country had recorded 90,626 dengue cases since the beginning of 2017, a year-on-year rise of 67.8 per cent, including 24 fatalities.

At the meeting, Minister of Health Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến ordered more chemical spraying to kill mosquito larvae, especially at hospitals, schools and construction sites. She also instructed that special training sessions on treating dengue in adults and children be conducted for health workers.

Tiến asked the preventive medicine department, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the National Institute of Malariology Parasitology and Entomology to start more training courses on epidemiology for medical stations at grassroot levels.

Dengue fever is a viral infection transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. There is no specific treatment for dengue.

Patients who develop a fever of 39-40 degree Celsius lasting for two to seven days and exhibit symptoms such as headache and rashes should visit the hospital for diagnosis and treatment. — VNS