Doctors in Ho Chi Minh City have warned people of the rise of dengue fever cases among children, with many of them suffering critical conditions.

Dr. Nguyen Minh Tien, deputy director of the Children’s Hospital in the city, said that the infirmary has received 100 to 150 children with dengue fever every day since early February, with ten percent of them requiring hospitalization.

The total number of inpatients with this tropical disease at Tien’s hospital has mounted to about 60.

That figure at the Children’s Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City has increased by 1.5-2 times from the same period last year, according to Assoc. Prof. Pham Van Quang, head of its intensive care unit.

Notably, Quang’s unit treated about ten critical cases of the mosquito-borne disease in the first two weeks of this month.

A patient even suffered apnea and a cardiac arrest before their hospital admission.

The doctors noticed that extreme cases were mostly found among overweight children, with dengue fever affecting their internal organs.

Dengue fever is transmitted via a bite from an infected mosquito. 

Symptoms, which usually become apparent between four and seven days after infection, include a sudden high fever, headaches, pain behind the eyes and a rash similar to measles.

Every year, the dengue fever outbreak in Ho Chi Minh City often lasts from July to January the next year, according to the municipal Center for Disease Control.

However, this year’s unusually early rainy season has caused the outbreak to begin and spread sooner, Assoc. Prof. Quang explained.

In addition, the outbreak is projected to reach its peak every four years, with this year coinciding with that four-year high.

The doctors advised parents to pay attention to children’s early symptoms of dengue fever infection for timely treatment.

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