A doctor treats people with dengue fever at the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases. — Photo sggp.org.vn |
HCM CITY — The number of people admitted to hospital with dengue fever in HCM City has increased sharply so far this year though it is not the peak disease season, according to the city Preventive Medicine Centre.
It said 6,067 people had been hospitalised as of February 10, with children and adults making up an equal number.
The HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases treated 1,690 patients last month, three times the number from January 2018.
During Tết (Lunar New Year) the number of patients reached 50 compared to 30-40 in previous years, Nguyễn Thanh Phong, head of the hospital’s infectious diseases department, said.
Many patients were hospitalised late with life-threatening complications, he said.
The hospital has this year reported one death and four serious cases that required mechanical ventilation and blood purification.
On February 6 Nguyễn Hoàng Huy, 24, of Bạc Liêu Province was admitted five days after he contracted dengue.
He bought some drugs from a pharmacy near his house for high fever and muscle pain. Two days later he was brought to the hospital as the symptoms worsened.
The symptoms typically develop from the third day of contracting the disease, Phong said.
If people have symptoms such as sudden high fever, bleeding in the nose, vomiting blood, and severe headache, they should immediately consult a doctor, he said. — VNS