Doctor Doan Tan Buu, deputy director of the provincial health department said the Ministry of Health (MoH) selected Dong Thap to host the important communication event because the province has high risks for a possible pandemic. 

Buu said the province has also coordinated with relevant agencies to heighten public awareness of dengue protection efforts. Deputy Minister of Health, Nguyen Thanh Long, called on localities to take synchronized measures to prevent the epidemic with a focus on eliminating mosquito larva. The health sector will support by giving advice, supervising and stamping out outbreaks to reduce the number of fatalities, he added.

According to a report from the MoH Preventive Health Department, since the beginning of the year, more than 10,000 cases of dengue fever have been reported including seven deaths. However, the number of cases have reduced by 41% compared to last year’s figures..

So far, dengue has affected 100 nations and territories worldwide with 2.5 billion people living in infected areas. Every year, around 50,000-100,000 people are infected with the disease and 24,000 people die of it.