QUẢNG NAM — Dengue fever is spreading in different districts in the central province of Quảng Nam and, so far this year, more than 2,480 cases have been reported, according to the provincial Preventive Medicine Centre.

Phú Ninh District is one of the districts with the highest number of cases. The disease appeared in the district at the end of August, and now nearly 100 cases have been reported. Tam An Commune alone has seen 68 cases.

Huỳnh Tuấn Nhật, chairman of the Tam An Commune People’s Committee, said that local medical workers’ capacity from the district to grassroots levels was limited so they could not give proper advice to local authorities on how to control the disease.

Workers from the local medical sector sprayed anti-mosquito substances in Tam An Commune twice over the past two months, but the measure has not proved effective, the Voice of Vietnam e-newspaper reported. At the beginning of this month, medical workers re-sprayed the substance in the commune.

Lê Văn Ninh, deputy chairman of the Phú Ninh District People’s Committee, said that the committee discussed with leaders of localities and medical stations about plans to control the disease. The plan was then communicated to medical stations.

Nguyễn Văn Văn, deputy director of the Quảng Nam Department of Health, said that the number of patients rose in several districts because local authorities were not thorough in preventing the disease. Residents had not been made aware of disease prevention. When the first case appeared, it was diagnosed as a regular fever and was not treated properly.

The department asked the provincial Preventive Medicine Centre to ensure resources and workers to cope with the epidemic and spray anti-mosquito substances regularly.

Leaders of the department went to different districts including Phú Ninh and Tây Giang districts and Điện Bàn Town to coordinate with local authorities in preventing the disease. — VNS