By NewsDesk  @bactiman63

While it is early in 2021, the two countries reporting the most dengue fever to date in southeast Asia are Vietnam and the Philippines.

In Vietnam, a total of 11,659 cases of dengue without any deaths have been reported through February 14. While high, it is down some 23 percent from last year at this time when 15,089 cases were reported.

The Philippines is also one of the countries reporting high number of cases globally to date. As of 6 February 2021, 6,614 dengue cases have been reported in 2021, including 20 deaths (CFR 0.3%). The number of cases in this period is 77% lower compared to the 29,184 cases reported in the same period in 2020.

Dengue is a disease caused by a virus spread through mosquito bites. The disease can take up to 2 weeks to develop with illness generally lasting less than a week.

Health effects from dengue include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, rash, muscle and joint pain, and minor bleeding.

Dengue can become severe within a few hours. Severe dengue is a medical emergency, usually requiring hospitalization.

In severe cases, health effects can include hemorrhage (uncontrolled bleeding), shock (seriously low blood pressure), organ failure, and death.