Regarding this issue, Dr. Dao Van Cao, Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases (Hospital E) responded as follows:

In recent days, the number of people with dengue fever coming for examination and treatment has increased dramatically at the Department of Tropical Diseases. Since July 2023, the Department of Tropical Diseases clinic has received about 20 people with dengue fever every day, of which 5-10 cases have to be hospitalized for monitoring and treatment, including many pregnant women, the elderly and people with many underlying diseases.

The department is currently monitoring and treating nearly 300 patients with dengue fever. Despite the large number of patients, the proactive prevention and control of the epidemic and the addition of folding beds for patients in the wards have limited the number of patients sharing beds.

Dengue fever is on the rise. Illustration photo: baochinhphu.vn

The health sector’s warnings about dengue fever have made people more aware of going for early medical examination and treatment when they have this disease. Although the number of patients coming for examination is very large, the Tropical Diseases Department has made plans to be ready to receive and treat patients in the coming time. After examination and diagnosis, doctors will screen patients with mild disease, can issue prescriptions and explain the direction of outpatient treatment to patients.

For patients with severe dengue fever and dengue fever with warning signs such as restlessness, lethargy, severe abdominal pain, frequent vomiting, little urine, mucosal bleeding, rapid platelet decrease, blood concentration, and elevated liver enzymes, they will be referred to the hospital for monitoring and treatment.

Given the unpredictable developments of dengue fever, if anyone experiences a sudden high fever, they should go to the hospital immediately, because dengue fever can change from mild to severe very quickly, so patients need to be examined and clinically classified to predict the disease and have an appropriate treatment plan.

Elderly people with underlying diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease often have more severe dengue fever. Pregnant women with dengue fever may give birth prematurely, have low birth weight babies, and have bleeding during and after birth. Dengue fever in pregnant women is dangerous in the early stages, as the virus affects the mother's blood-forming organs, causing blood clotting disorders and reducing the number and quality of platelets. This complication can easily lead to miscarriage, birth defects, and stillbirth.

In addition, dengue fever during labor can cause postpartum hemorrhage due to the disease causing thrombocytopenia. More serious is the blood clotting disorder leading to the risk of death for the mother and fetus. Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent dengue fever for pregnant women and no specific treatment, so pregnant women with dengue fever should go to a general hospital for timely monitoring and treatment to avoid unfortunate consequences.

Health-related questions should be sent to the “Your Doctor” section, Economic-Social-Internal Affairs Editorial Department, People’s Army Newspaper, 8 Ly Nam De, Hang Ma, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi. Email: [email protected], [email protected]. Phone: 0243.8456735.

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