Vietnam saw a 50 percent decrease in dengue fever in January 2017 compared to Jan. 2016, according to data released by the World Health Organization this week.
In January 2017, there were 6,565 dengue cases reported (without deaths) from 41 out of 63 cities/ provinces in country. The number of cases decreased by 41.2% compared to the previous month and by 49.9% compared to the same period in the previous year.
Vietnam reported 122,020 cases of dengue including 43 deaths in 2016.
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, new 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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