According to Nguyen Dac Tho, Deputy Director of the Center for Preventive Medicine, there have been over 1,200 cases of dengue fever in the first two months of the year. The number of patients has been higher each week compared to the previous week. This is unusual, as the disease typically decreases during the dry season.
If following the usual cycle, dengue fever usually peaks from April to September. During the dry months, there are typically very few or no hospital admissions for the disease. However, hospitals in the city are still consistently receiving dengue patients.
Compared to the same period last year, the number of hospitalized patients has nearly doubled at hospitals such as Children’s Hospital I, Children’s Hospital II, and Tropical Diseases Hospital, among others.
A child being treated at Children’s Hospital I. (Photo: VNE)
Dr. Tran Thi Thuy, Deputy Head of the Infectious Diseases Department at Children’s Hospital II, stated, “The proportion of children under 18 months suffering from the disease is significant. Parents should not let their guard down regarding this illness at any age.”
The number of severe shock cases is quite high. According to Dr. Van Bich, Head of the Pediatrics Department at Gia Dinh People’s Hospital, among the dengue cases admitted daily, those in severe shock are often children aged 8 to 10 years. The treatment duration is now 9 to 10 days, which is longer than before by 1 to 2 days. “This is a difference in treatment duration. This difference may be due to changes in epidemiological conditions,” Dr. Bich added.
Dr. Tran Tinh Hien, Deputy Director of the Tropical Diseases Hospital, noted that patients admitted in severe shock often come from remote areas. Because of a lack of understanding, when they recover from fever, they mistakenly believe they have fully recovered. However, the danger of the disease often lies precisely when the fever subsides, as that is when patients can enter a stage of severe shock that may jeopardize their lives.
| In early February, Gia Dinh Hospital received a case of dengue fever in a critical condition, exhibiting high fever, black vomiting, severe abdominal pain, and fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity, along with other symptoms such as acute pancreatitis and thrombocytopenia. After receiving 13 units of fresh blood to correct coagulation disorders, abdominal bleeding and bleeding in both pleurae persisted. The treating physician had to consult global medical literature, combined with newly acquired experience, to find the correct treatment approach for the patient. Records indicate that a similar case occurred in Taiwan in 2004, but it was milder. Specialists diagnose this could be a complication of late-stage dengue fever. |
Dr. Hien also stated that while it is confirmed that mosquitoes are the primary carriers of dengue fever, the exact mechanism of how the disease operates remains unclear. In reality, adults exhibit more symptoms of dengue fever than children, but they experience fewer shock cases and have milder symptoms. Surveys reveal that the clinical presentation of adults differs significantly from that of children. In addition to typical dengue symptoms, there are other manifestations that have not received attention, such as liver damage; in adults, liver enzymes increase significantly without causing jaundice, and the mechanisms of coagulation due to unknown factors have yet to be studied.
Dr. Hien mentioned: “If one person in a family has to be hospitalized, many others have likely been infected without knowing why they do not show symptoms.“
Currently, the Tropical Diseases Hospital is collaborating with several other hospitals to conduct research on this issue by requesting blood samples from relatives of hospitalized patients for testing. However, this process faces many difficulties; despite healthcare staff explaining the purpose of blood sampling for testing, many individuals remain unsupportive due to fears of “bad luck.”
My Lan
