Nghe An requires all levels and sectors to strengthen the prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases due to the El Nino phenomenon.

The People's Committee of Nghe An province requests the Department of Health, the Department of Information and Communications and the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns, based on their functions and tasks, to strengthen and effectively implement the work of preventing and controlling mosquito-borne diseases due to the El Nino phenomenon according to the direction of the Ministry of Health.

Previously, on July 10, the Ministry of Health issued Official Dispatch No. 4295/BYT-DP on strengthening the prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases due to the El Nino phenomenon to the People's Committees of provinces and cities.

The document stated: According to the World Health Organization, in 2023 and 2024, the El Nino phenomenon could increase the transmission of dengue fever and other arboviruses such as Zika, Chikungunya, and Japanese encephalitis. Climate change also promotesmosquitoreproduction and increase of mosquito-borne diseases.

Vietnam is a tropical country with a hot and humid climate and is located in an area with a high prevalence of mosquito-borne diseases. According to the forecast of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, the El Nino phenomenon is highly likely to occur in the second half of 2023. In addition, the weather is currently entering the rainy season, creating favorable conditions formosquitoThe disease is spreading rapidly, so that proactive measures can be promptly deployed to prevent and control epidemics, and not let them break out or spread.

The Ministry of Health requested the People's Committees of provinces and cities to direct the People's Committees at district, city and town levels to more strongly implement mosquito larvae/larva eradication activities in the area in July 2023 and maintain activities once a week in high-risk areas, once every 2 weeks in areas with high mosquito, mosquito larvae/larva indexes and once a month in the remaining areas.

Assign specific responsibilities to authorities at all levels to direct and mobilize departments, branches, and socio-political organizations to coordinate with the health sector to deploy a campaign to eradicate mosquito larvae, ensuring that all households in epidemic and at-risk areas must have their water tanks, containers, utensils, waste, and mosquito breeding sites inspected and monitored to carry out methods to eradicate mosquito larvae.

The health sector closely monitors, supervises and thoroughly handles local outbreaks of infectious diseases; ensures that 100% of outbreaks are detected and handled promptly in accordance with the Ministry of Health's instructions; directs the review and organization of Japanese encephalitis vaccination for children of vaccination age in the form of regular vaccination with a high rate, complete, on schedule, safe and effective.

The Department of Information and Communications and mass media agencies coordinate with the health sector to strengthen the implementation of epidemic prevention propaganda activities; diversify communication activities so that people understand and proactively implement disease prevention measures such as mosquito control measures, using mosquito nets, and preventing mosquito bites; communicate about the signs of dengue fever and mosquito-borne diseases; instruct people not to self-treat at home when sick, but to go immediately to medical facilities for timely examination and treatment.

Direct medical examination and treatment facilities to organize well the admission and treatment of patients, minimize deaths, especially at private medical examination and treatment facilities, avoid the situation where patients do not receive timely consultation, emergency care, treatment and referral, and at the same time have a plan to allocate treatment routes, support lower levels, avoid hospital overload; ensure enough medicine, equipment and medical supplies to serve medical examination and treatment.

Organize inter-sectoral inspection teams of authorities at all levels to inspect and supervise the implementation of the directions of the Ministry of Health and the People's Committees of provinces and cities./.