Dengue fever cases exceed 300,000 in Vietnam
Thursday, November 17, 2022, 17:18 GMT+7
The number of dengue fever patients in Vietnam has exceeded 300,000 so far in 2022, jumping by five times year on year.
The Ministry of Health has logged 303,637 dengue fever cases since the beginning of the year, including 112 deaths.
The number of cases jumped by five times year on year, while the death toll increased by 88.
More than 10,000 patients were documented across the country last week.
Hanoi has recorded a total of 1,343 dengue fever cases over the past week, a 2.3 percent increase compared to the previous week.
Thanh Nhan Hospital in the capital city has received nearly 1,500 dengue fever patients since the beginning of the year.
Among them, about 30-40 percent suffered severe conditions such as kidney failure, a low platelet count, and high liver enzymes.
The National Hospital for Tropical Diseases currently treats about 100 dengue fever patients on a daily basis.
At Vietnam National Children's Hospital, the number of children with dengue fever has doubled compared to the previous week.
Hanoi has documented 12 deaths related to the mosquito-borne disease in the year to date.
According to experts, dengue fever is one of the most common diseases that lead to thrombocytopenia.
During a viral infection, the body produces antibodies against the virus, and these antibodies can destroy platelets through the immune mechanism.
The dengue virus can also cause myelosuppression which results in temporary thrombocytopenia.
Therefore, platelets play a vital role in the treatment of this mosquito-borne disease.
Amid the increasingly serious dengue fever outbreak in northern Vietnam, the National Blood Center under the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion has been exerting extra efforts to distribute platelets to local hospitals.
“The number of platelets supplied to hospitals has increased by about 1.5 times, from around 400 units to about 600 units a day, since August,” said a representative of the center.
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