The number of dengue fever cases in Vietnam near 125,000 through mid-September 2017, a more than 40 percent increase over the same period in 2016. This includes 29 fatalities.

Aedes aegypti/CDC
Aedes aegypti/CDC

The good news is health officials do say the number of new dengue cases has declined nearly 24 per cent nationwide over the past four weeks.

The health ministry’s Preventive Medicine Department director Trần Đắc Phu did warn that dengue fever seems like it will continue to develop complications in the coming weeks as the disease is still at its peak.

Related: Malaria ‘superbug’ spreads to Vietnam: ‘This could severely jeopardize malaria elimination efforts’

Elsewhere in Asia, a total of 67,601 dengue cases were reported nationwide from January 1 to August 12, 2017 in the Philippines. This number is 40.4% lower (113,471) than that for the same period in 2016. As of 12 August, 366 deaths were reported among reported dengue cases in 2017.

In Thailand through Sept. 18, a total of 37392 cases were reported from 77 provinces including 54 deaths.

Finally in Malaysia, the dengue case count nears 70,000 and 153 deaths through mid-September.

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