Ministry urges HCM City hospitals to prepare for dengue fever

HCM CITY — Deputy Minister of Health Nguyễn Trường Sơn yesterday led the ministry’s inspection team to supervise admission and treatment of dengue fever patients at three public hospitals in HCM City amid a spike in new cases in the city and neighbouring provinces.

Sơn asked top-tier hospitals in the city to boost support for lower-level hospitals to ensure proper clinical management of dengue cases and prevent the risk of dengue related deaths.

He hailed the thoughtful preparation for a dengue outbreak at District  八 Hospital, Children's Hospital No. 一 and the Hospital for Tropical Diseases after inspecting the three hospitals.

He said that dengue admissions at hospitals in HCM City and provinces in the south have been increasing and outbreaks are likely to become more widespread.

The deputy health minister asked health facilities to increase the number of beds and prepare enough medicine and medical supplies to cope with a sharp spike in the number of patients with dengue-related ailments in the upcoming weeks.

He highlighted the importance of training medical workers for the early detection of severe dengue in order to offer timely treatment that helps lower fatality rates.

Top-tier hospitals need to regularly conduct training for medical workers at lower-level hospitals and private clinics, he said.

Dengue fever awareness raising campaigns are also needed to prevent and control dengue fever outbreaks.

The ministry will take measures to promptly fix the current shortages of drugs and medical supplies for dengue fever as reported by leaders of hospitals.

Localities in the south have recorded more than  五 六,000 cases and  四 二 deaths so far this year, according to the Pasteur Institute in HCM City.

Patient overload

The Children Hospital No. 一 in HCM City has seen a four-fold increase in hospital admissions of patients with dengue-related ailments in the first six months of the year compared to the entire year of  二0 二 一.

Prof. Ngô Ngọc Quang Minh, deputy director of the hospital, said more than  四,000 patients with dengue fever disease were hospitalised for treatment in the first six months of the year, with severe dengue cases accounting for  二 一 per cent.

The Hospital for Tropical Diseases in HCM City has been overloaded with dengue patients.

Nguyễn Thành Dũng, director of the hospital, said  七 三 九 dengue patients were being treated, exceeding  五 五0 beds set aside for infectious diseases.

A large number of patients were transferred to the hospital from lower-level hospitals in provinces in the south, resulting in the overload of patients at the hospital, Dũng said. — VNS