Vietnam has seen in excess of 50,000 dengue fever cases in 2017 to date, including 15 deaths and the capital city of Hanoi has been struck hard in recent weeks by the mosquito borne viral disease, according the Strait Times.
The report notes that in just the past week, 1,100 cases have been reported, citing local health officials. Hanoi has seen 5,300 cases year to date.
Hospital director Nguyen Van Kinh told reporters that doctors are concerned about the unusually high number of deaths caused by brain hemorrhages. Five patients have already died from the condition so far this year, compared to only one or two in previous years.
Local doctors said the key reason for the surge in dengue fever infections is the early coming of rainy season which has created favorable conditions for mosquitoes to breed and grow quickly.
Related: New assay detects and differentiates Zika virus infections from dengue
In the past 50 years, the incidence of dengue worldwide has increased 30-fold, largely as a consequence of the growth of cities and increased travel.
Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of four related dengue viruses. This disease used to be called “break-bone fever” because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking.
People get the dengue virus from the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. It is not contagious from person to person. For more infectious disease news and information, visit and “like” the Infectious Disease News Facebook page
There are three types of dengue fever in order of less severe to most: the typical uncomplicated dengue fever, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHS) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS).
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates there may be 50–100 million dengue infections worldwide every year. However, research from the University of Oxford and the Wellcome Trust, using cartographic approaches, estimate there to be 390 million dengue infections per year worldwide.
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