Vietnam is about to hit the height of the dengue fever season, while encephalitis is also reaching epidemic proportions in many regions of the Southeast Asian country.

Statistics released by the Ministry of Health show that the outbreak of the mosquito-borne dengue fever is battering localities across the country way earlier than previous years.

According to Nguyen Anh Tuan, an official from the Preventive Medicine Center of Ho Chi Minh City, this year’s abnormal rain pattern is the main cause behind the hike in dengue patients and the early onset of the yearly infection boom.

The number of dengue fever cases in the southern city has so far reached 339, Tuan said, adding that the disease has claimed three lives as yet.

Ngo Ngoc Quang Minh, an official from Children’s Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, stated that the infirmary has established multiple teams of doctors to receive patients around the clock and has prepared its technology and medicine for the treatment of dengue fever.

In the Mekong Delta, thousands of people have been admitted to local hospitals for dengue fever, while an increase in encephalitis is being recorded throughout the region.

At the Children’s Hospital in Can Tho City, which receives patients from the city and other nearby provinces, about 1,000 people have been brought to the facility for treatment of the mosquito-borne disease.

Approximately 40 people with encephalitis have been admitted to the infirmary.

Children are often brought to the hospital only when they have begun experiencing severe stages of the ailment, typically because parents had overlooked dengue symptoms and continued to treat them with regular medicine, said Ha Anh Tuan, a senior doctor at the facility.

According to local doctors, a rise in dengue during the dry season and the spiking number of infected adults are making the situation much more complicated in the Mekong Delta.

Local people should refrain from storing rainwater to avoid creating environments for mosquitoes, the main transmitters of the disease, to breed and grow.

Meanwhile, information from the Vietnam National Children’s Hospital in Hanoi revealed that 176 kids have been brought to the infirmary for encephalitis this year, 21 of which were recorded in June.

Duong Thi Hong, deputy head of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, suggested that parents take children to be vaccinated in order to protect them from encephalitis.

Several districts including Dong Da, Hoang Mai, Cau Giay, and Hoang Kiem have seen a five- to nine-fold increase of dengue fever patients compared to last year.

Experts recommended patients with high fever accompanied by nausea, muscle pain, and headaches have their condition checked at a local hospital.

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