Spraying to kill mosquitoes (Source:http://www.nhandan.com.vn)

Central Da Nang city and Khanh Hoa province have been taking measures to fight dengue fever as infections are rising rapidly.

Da Nang's preventive medicine centre reported that the city has so far this year recorded 3,183 cases of dengue fever, 709 more cases than the same period in 2015.

In October alone, 150 cases were reported a week, mainly detected in Ngu Hanh Son, Cam Le, Thanh Khe, Hai Chau precincts and Hoa Vang district.

Apart from intensifying monitoring cases, the health sector and local authorities have launched communications campaigns to encourage local people get involved in cleaning up the living environment to prevent new infections.

Doctor Nguyen Tam Lam, who heads the contagious disease management and bio-vaccine department of the municipal preventive medicine centre, said health workers tackled 206 small-scale dengue fever outbreaks in 56 communes and wards.

In Khanh Hoa province, 4,040 cases of dengue fever were uncovered in the past ten months, rising 0.5 percent from the same period last year. Infections rose especially between July and September. Health workers dealt with 213 outbreaks.

The provincial health sector predicted a rise in dengue fever cases as the rainy season is favoured for mosquito breeding.

Vice Director of the provincial health department Le Tan Phung, said killing mosquito larvae is the focal task in preventing new dengue fever incidences.

 Dengue fever is a disease ranging from mild to severe - caused by four related viruses spread bythe Aedes mosquito. 'Milder' dengue fever causes high fever, rash, severe headache, muscle and joint pain. More-severe but much rarer forms of the disease - dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome - can additionally cause severe bleeding, a sudden drop in blood pressure (shock) and even death (very rare).

Treatment

No specific treatment for dengue fever exists, and most people recover but supportive care is essential, so drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration from vomiting and high fever. Also take acetaminophen (Tylenol) or paracetamol to alleviate pain and reduce fever. Don't take aspirin or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) as these can increase the risk of bleeding complications.

But if you do develop a severe form of the disease, you will need hospital care, where treatment will consist of: Supportive care as an in-patient with analgesics, intravenous (IV) fluid and electrolyte replacement, blood pressure monitoring and transfusion to replace blood loss (very rare)

If you have any signs or symptoms of dengue fever, please come see us at Family Medical Practice as we have the expertise to diagnose and manage this disease.

To diagnose dengue fever, we can do specific blood tests and rule out other diseases presenting in a similar fashion such as malaria, influenza, leptospirosis and typhoid fever.

Prevention

The best way to avoid dengue fever is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes that carry the disease. No vaccine is commonly available as yet to prevent dengue. To reduce your risk of mosquito bites, minimize your exposure to mosquitoes:

•   Schedule outdoor activities for times when mosquitoes are less prevalent. Avoid being outdoors at dawn, dusk and early evening, when more mosquitoes are buzzing about.
• Wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks and shoes.
• Stay in air-conditioned or well-screened housing.
• Apply permethrin-containing mosquito repellent to your bed netting. You can also buy clothing made with permethrin already in it.
• Use repellent with a 10 to 30 percent concentration of DEET o­n your skin. Choose the concentration based o­n the hours of protection you need - a 10 percent concentration of DEET is e­ective for about two hours; higher concentrations last longer. However, chemical repellents can be toxic, so use o­nly the amount needed. Don't use DEET o­n the hands of young children or o­n infants under 2 months of age. Instead, cover your infant's stroller or playpen with mosquito netting when outside.

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