Nghe An: Dengue fever outbreak recurs, 29 people infected

The latest record shows that the epidemic is on the decline. Yesterday (September 24), there was only 1 new case detected. Of the 29 infected people in Dien Ngoc commune, 12 have recovered, 14 are being treated at Dien Chau General Hospital and 3 are being treated at home.

Doctor Cao Dinh Minh - Director of Dien Chau District Medical Center said: Dien Ngoc is an old epidemic area, circulating pathogens. In favorable weather conditions, Aedes mosquitoes (striped mosquitoes) develop, the epidemic breaks out again. Since the beginning of the year, the whole district has had 31 cases of dengue fever. In addition to 29 cases in Dien Ngoc, there are 2 imported cases (people in Dien Ky and Dien Trung brought the disease back from Vung Tau).

There have been 29 people infected with dengue fever in Dien Ngoc commune. Photo: Thanh Chung

In order to prevent dengue fever, Dien Chau district is currently strengthening monitoring, environmental treatment, and spraying chemicals to kill mosquitoes. The district health center has sprayed 190 liters of chemicals. It is expected that today, the remaining two hamlets of Dien Ngoc commune will be sprayed.

In 2017, Dien Chau was the first locality to experience an outbreak of dengue fever in the province. There were 3 outbreaks of dengue fever in the area (2 outbreaks in Dien Ngoc commune and 1 outbreak in Dien Thinh commune) with 153 cases.

Since early April, Dien Ngoc Commune Health Station has monitored and detected a mosquito larvae index of 65% - higher than the epidemic warning level. The health station has advised the Commune People's Committee and the District Health Center to take appropriate prevention and control measures. In early May, Dien Chau District Health Center selected Dien Ngoc Commune to organize a Week of dengue fever prevention among the people.

In May, the People's Committee of Dien Ngoc commune requested all departments, branches, organizations, and households to clean up the environment, kill mosquito larvae, turn over waste containing water, especially flower pots containing water, and encourage people to use mosquito nets even during the day.... However, dengue fever still recurred.

Dien Chau District Medical Center sprays insecticide to kill mosquitoes in Dien Ngoc Commune. Photo: Thanh Chung

Up to this point, only Dien Chau has had dengue fever. However, epidemic prevention work cannot be subjective. Doctor Bui Tien Dung - Head of the Department of Infectious Disease Control, Provincial Center for Preventive Medicine forecasts: This year, the dengue fever epidemic situation continues to be complicated and unpredictable. The reason is that in Nghe An, dengue fever is an internal disease. Hot weather, heavy rain, creating favorable conditions for mosquitoes to develop. The large number of people traveling, the risk of bringing pathogens back is higher.

There is no vaccine or specific treatment for dengue fever. Therefore, dengue fever can only be prevented by the strength of the whole community based on the principle of “no mosquitoes, no disease”. The main and effective preventive measure is to kill mosquitoes, larvae, and pupae./.

Dengue fever is transmitted by the vector Aedes aegypti mosquito (Aedes mosquito). When a mosquito bites a person with the virus, it carries the virus for life and passes it on to the next generation. Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs survive very well in the environment when they adhere firmly to containers such as buckets, basins, and tanks. People have to scrub and wash them vigorously for the eggs to leave the container. Aedes aegypti mosquito eggs never hatch all at once, but hatch in batches, only 80% hatch in the first flood, and 20% hatch in subsequent floods. Therefore, the pathogen survives for a very long time.