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Accordingly, 59 deaths have been claimed by epidemics, including 35 deaths from rabies, 14 from dengue fever and 10 from viral encephalitis.
The first half of the year also saw 45,000 people suffering from dengue fever. The patients from the Southern, Central and Central Highlands provinces accounted for more than 80% of the cases. However, the number of cases in Hanoi also increased 400% compared with the same period last year but was not on the list of the 10 provinces with the largest number of dengue fever cases in the country.
In 2017, dengue fever cases occur sooner than other years, Phu added. Especially in Hanoi, the fever usually breaks out in July or August, but this year first cases were detected in May and June.
In the first six months of the year, nearly 400 people suffered from viral encephalitis. Of the figure, 10 died; one out of the 62 cases of Japanese B encephalitis died; 69 cases suffered from pig liver disease (Streptococcus suis), up by 40 cases compared with the same period last year, with 4 deaths; and 35 died from rabies.
As explained by Phu, the rise of epidemics in this summer might result from unexpected and unpredictable weather conditions, like extremely hot spells and rains, which favors the development of mosquitoes and other disease causative agents. Additionally, bad living conditions and habits also increased the risk of epidemics.
The Department of Preventive Medicine recommends that although some diseases have increased in summer but the viruses have not found genetically modified neither the virulence. The rise in epidemics was thought to result from environmental changes facilitating the development of disease causative agents.
Therefore, Tran Dac Phu advised people to pay attention to preventing summer diseases by frequently cleaning, washing hands with soap, kill mosquitoes around their places, eat and drink well-cooked food and boiled water, drink sufficient water and eat more fruits, which could help better protect them from diseases.
