Hanoi - Mosquito-borne dengue fever has killed at least 60 people in Vietnam so far this year with a nearly 50-per-cent rise in reported cases, an official said Tuesday. At least 68,000 people have come down with dengue fever in Vietnam so far this year, up 48 per cent from the same time last year, said Nguyen Huy Nga, director of the Preventative Medicine Department under the Ministry of Health.
"Most of the victims are people under 15 years old in the Mekong Delta region, which is exposed to rainfall and a long period of sunshine," Nga said. "Those are perfect conditions for the proliferation of mosquitoes."
However, speedy treatment and public awareness has meant that the number of deaths have not risen significantly in Vietnam, where 55 people died of dengue during all of last year.
September marks the peak of the annual dengue fever season, so Nga said there is hope the number of cases would subside.
Dengue fever, a virus spread through the bite of the female Aedes mosquito, has been on the rise all over South-East Asia this year.
Indonesia in September reported more than 100,000 cases, a 10-per-cent increase in the numbers reported last year. Myanmar has also seen a 33-per-cent increase, reporting 11,577 cases so far in 2007.
Thailand has had 40,258 cases in 2007, an increase of 27 per cent.
Symptoms of the disease include high fever, intense headaches and extreme joint pain. Most fatal cases come when the disease turns into haemorrhagic dengue fever, which can result in uncontrollable bleeding from the eyes and even through the skin.
The virus has the highest fatality rate among the very young and the elderly.
There is no vaccine for dengue fever, and in August, the World Health Organization appealed to member countries to intensify key interventions for controlling dengue, including controlling standing water and improving their health-care response.
Vietnam has responded to the increase in cases by spraying for mosquitoes in urban areas and urging rural families to kill mosquitoes and try to avoid their bites.
