Published Date: 2007-07-12 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/MBDS> Dengue - Viet Nam (10): DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3
Archive Number: 20070712.2226

DENGUE - VIET NAM (10): DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3
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Date: Thu 12 Jul 2007
Source: Thanh Nien Daily [edited]
<http://www.thanhniennews.com/healthy/?catid=8&newsid=29921>

Viet Nam's 29 000 dengue infections this year [2007] mark a 30
percent jump over the same period last year [2006].
Nguyen Van Binh, deputy head of the Health Ministry's Center for
Preventive Healthcare, said the mosquito-borne outbreak would
continue. This year [2007] could be the worst year on record as hot
weather and rising rainfall have created thriving mosquito
populations that spread the disease.
Additionally, the type of dengue people are contracting has changed
recently. In the 1999-2006 period, patients were infected mainly by
DEN-3 (Dengue 3) and DEN-2 (Dengue 2) [serotypes].
However, this year [2007], serum tests have showed that 58 percent of
cases contracted DEN-1 while the other 42 percent have tested
positive for all 3 types of the fever [do they mean that 42 percent
have tested positive for the other 2 types of dengue virus or that
mixed infections were identified with all 3 virus types implicated?
This moderator chooses to interpret this as meaning that the other 2
serotypes were involved in 42 percent of the cases, highlighting that
all 3 serotypes are circulating simultaneously in Viet Nam - Mod.MPP].
DEN-1 causes serious complications like hemorrhages, carditis, and
liver problems. Tran Ngoc Huu, head of the Ho Chi Minh City-based
Pasteur Institute, said infections have risen as people have yet to
acquire any immunity to DEN-1.
According to statistics, Viet Nam is recording 3000 new dengue
infections every week, an increase of over 33.3 percent year-on-year.
The majority of patients are in the southern provinces, especially
the Mekong Delta region. Ho Chi Minh City has seen about 2000 dengue
infections this year [2007].
Le Thi Bich Lien from the HCMC Pediatrics Hospital Number 1 said the
hospital receives some 20 cases daily.
According to the city's Pediatrics Hospital Number 2, the number of
its dengue patients over the last 6 months has been nearly equal to
last year's [2006] total number. Everyday, 15-20 dengue cases are
hospitalized there.
Meanwhile, the Mekong Delta region has been the worst hit due to the
complex systems of rivers and streams where mosquitoes breed.
Dong Thap province has reported that over 400 patients were
hospitalized last week [2-8 Jul 2007], raising the total number of
infections to 4400 in the 1st half of the year [2007]. Similar
numbers have been reported in Tien Giang province. Kien Giang
province has recorded over 3100 cases, according to the provincial
Preventive Healthcare Center. In Soc Trang province, the number has
been nearly 2800.
Standing Deputy Prime Minister, Nguyen Sinh Hung, has directed the
ministry to cooperate with local health watchdogs and authorities to
quickly stamp out the epidemic.
Last week [2-8 Jul 2007], the ministry held a conference with
authorities from 20 of the countries worst hit localities to discuss
measures to control the epidemic.
The disease has also struck a number of other Southeast Asian
countries this year [2007], including Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore,
and Thailand.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-MBDS
<promed-mbds@promedmail.org>
[The newswire above mentions the profile of the serotypes of dengue
virus involved in this year's (2007) epidemic in Viet Nam. There are
4 known serotypes of dengue virus -- DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4.
While it does appear that DEN-1 is a "new kid" on the block in Viet
Nam, it should be noted that DEN-2 and DEN-3 are still circulating
and are responsible for approximately 42 percent of the cases tested
this year (if the figures presented in the newswire are correct).
For an excellent review of dengue, please see Gubler DJ: Dengue and
Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever; Clin Microbiol Rev. 1998 July; 11(3):
480-496. The full chapter is available at
<http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=88892&blobtype=pdf>,
and is an excellent review article on all aspects of dengue fever,
with an extensive bibliography for those who wish to research this topic more.
For maps of Viet Nam with provinces, see
<http://www.angelfire.com/co/hongnam/vnmap.html> and
<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/vietnam_admin01.jpg>.
- Mod.MPP]

See Also

Dengue - Viet Nam (09) 20070709.2178
Dengue - Viet Nam (08): central provinces 20070702.2106
Dengue - Viet Nam (07) 20070622.2025
Dengue - Viet Nam (06) 20070613.1921
Dengue - MBDS region: Viet Nam (05): RFI 20070609.1882
Dengue - Viet Nam (04): RFI 20070530.1746
Dengue - Viet Nam (03): RFI 20070323.1017
Dengue - Viet Nam (02): RFI 20070312.0874
Dengue - Viet Nam: vector increases, alert, RFI 20070227.0702
Dengue - Cambodia (03): RFI 20070710.2197
Dengue - Cambodia (02) 20070629.2089
Dengue - Cambodia: RFI 20070613.1920
Dengue - Thailand (04): RFI 20070709.2184
Dengue - Thailand (03): RFI 20070607.1850
Dengue - Thailand (02): RFI 20070503.1434
Dengue - Thailand (Trat): RFI 20070404.1144
Dengue - Myanmar (04): RFI 20070709.2177
Dengue - Myanmar (03): Yangon, RFI 20070625.2050
Dengue - Myanmar: DHF, RFI (02) 20070622.2023
Dengue - Myanmar: 2006, RFI 20070309.0837
Dengue - Southeast Asia (multicountry) 20070710.2204
Dengue - Singapore 20070620.1992
Dengue - Taiwan: imported cases, MBDS countries 20070620.1991
......................mpp/mj/mpp
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