Why does dengue fever keep recurring?

(Baonghean) - Dengue fever is spread by Aedes mosquitoes that bite infected people and then transmit the disease to healthy people through their bites. Everyone knows about the disease and can prevent it through environmental sanitation. However, the disease is still recurring in many places.

Every year, in September, dengue fever breaks out in some localities of Nghe An. This is the time when the weather is erratic, the humidity is high, and Aedes mosquitoes thrive. In 2016, the first case of dengue fever appeared in Dien Thinh commune (Dien Chau).

Specifically, at 8:30 a.m. on September 30, 2016, the Dien Chau District Medical Center conducted surveillance of infectious diseases causing epidemics at Dien Chau General Hospital and discovered 2 suspected cases of dengue fever. They were Mr. Hoang Van Nghia, 59 years old and Ms. Ta Thi Hue, 20 years old, both living in Hamlet 11B, Dien Thinh Commune.

The symptoms of the two people before being hospitalized were identical: high fever, headache, and body aches. After being treated at home without success, Mr. Nghia was hospitalized on September 27, and Ms. Hue was hospitalized on September 28. Suspecting that these two cases had an infectious disease, the Dien Chau District Medical Center took samples for testing and sent them to higher levels. By 4 p.m. the same day, the Provincial Preventive Medicine Center had test results showing that both samples were positive for dengue fever.

Instruct people to cover cans and jars tightly to prevent mosquitoes from laying eggs.

Mr. Cao Dinh Minh - Director of Dien Chau District Medical Center said: Immediately after receiving the results, the center worked with the People's Committee of the commune, Dien Thinh Commune Medical Station to inform about the epidemic situation, supervise and inspect the field and deploy epidemic prevention measures such as zoning, providing chemicals and mosquito spraying machines in the epidemic hamlet; directing the medical station to organize admission and treatment.

Through regular examination, classification, and disease prevention consultation, the number of dengue fever patients detected is increasing. On October 1, 6 new patients were detected; on October 2, 3 new patients were detected...

Recognizing that the epidemic was internally circulating, the Dien Chau District Health Center requested 39 communes and villages to carry out environmental sanitation and mobilize social resources to buy chemicals for spraying. The Provincial Center for Preventive Medicine provided 150 liters of Bermethrin chemicals to treat the environment and spray mosquitoes in all hamlets of Dien Thinh Commune. By October 12, the epidemic had been contained. Currently, all patients have recovered. And for the past 10 days, the district has not detected any new cases.

It is worth mentioning that in Dien Chau, dengue fever is rampant every year. In 2015, at the end of September, the first case of dengue fever was detected in Dien Ngoc commune in Trung Thanh hamlet, and then 19 other patients were detected. As of October 7, 2015, there were 43 cases of dengue fever in Dien Ngoc, Dien Bich, and Dien Thinh communes.

The cause of the recurrence of dengue fever in the above localities lies in the people's limitations in environmental sanitation and the urging of disease prevention by authorities at all levels.

Doctor Nguyen Xuan Hong - Deputy Director of the Department of Health said: "The responsibility belongs to the local government, the on-site medical units and the people's awareness of disease prevention. And looking deeper, it is because we do disease prevention work not regularly and not resolutely. In fact, in the key areas of dengue fever, environmental sanitation work here is still limited."

Staff of Hung Nguyen District Medical Center sprayed medicine to control the epidemic at the facility.

Although it is an epidemic area, the risk of dengue fever can be completely reduced if prevention is focused. This year, Quynh Luu has done quite well in this work.

Doctor Vu Hong Quang - Director of Quynh Luu District Medical Center said: "Since the beginning of August, the center has deployed plans to prevent dengue fever down to the grassroots level; directed medical stations to inspect, monitor, and guide people on disease prevention". Up to now, people's awareness has been raised.

For a long time, Nghe An has done a good job in early detection, containment, containment and treatment of patients. However, this is like “closing the barn door after the horse has fled”. Disease prevention needs to be done regularly and with a higher sense of responsibility.

Thanh Son