Laos has been quite silent this year in regards to any potential dengue fever outbreaks even as some countries in ASEAN are still facing rising dengue infections.
Acting Director of the provincial Health Department, Dr Sonexay Pangnanouvong told Vientiane Times on Tuesday that there have been no real outbreaks because health specialists disseminated information about the dangers of the disease in early June.
“When some people feel a little bit sick with headache and fever, they hurry to meet the nurses and doctors at the hospitals instantly, so that’s why the dengue infections are not rising in the provinces,” Dr Sonexay said.
The current situation in regards to dengue infections has been quiet in all provinces of the country so far this year.
In fact, Borikhamxay province was at risk of an outbreak but the situation was quickly brought under control.
In May this year, many parts of these villages were found to have large quantities of larvae evident but they were eliminated by a team of provincial health specialists.
Based on The Straits Times in Singapore, Singapore is facing another possible surge in dengue infections as the National Environment Agency (NEA) reports rising numbers of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito that spreads the disease.
The number of dengue cases has just crossed the 10,000 mark for the year and, although infections have dipped in recent weeks, this could be the lull before the storm.
In Vietnam, the Vietnam News reported on Wednesday that statistics from the ministry’s General Department of Preventive Medicine showed that the number of people that contracted dengue fever in the first six months of this year reached over 44,800, more than 2.5 times higher than the same period last year.
In Myanmar more than 3,000 people in Myanmar have developed a severe form of dengue known as dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) so far this year.
In Borikhamxay a dengue fever threat has been reported after one person living in a village of Pakkading district died in June from dengue infection.
So far there are 272 people in the province that have reported cases of dengue fever.
From January to June 10 this year more than 900 cases of dengue fever have been recorded around the country, from which seven people have reportedly died.
Last year there were a total of 1,950 dengue cases nationwide last year but no deaths recorded. So far this year six deaths have been recorded in Champassak province, one in Saravan province and one in Borikhamxay.
Source: Vientiane Times
