Vietnam reported more than 50,000 dengue fever cases in the first five months of this year, 2.5 times the number recorded in the same period last year, the Vietnam News Agency reported Thursday, citing the Ministry of Health.
According to experts, unusual weather patterns, alternating periods of hot, humid conditions and persistent rainfall since the beginning of the year have created an ideal environment for Aedes mosquitoes to breed, said the report.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thanh Hung, who is also vice president of the Vietnam Pediatric Association and former director of Children’s Hospital No.1, said a notable shift is that people of all ages can now contract dengue fever.
While more than a decade ago, 60 to 70 percent of cases in southern Vietnam were among children under 15, the infection rate is now nearly equal between children and people aged over 15, he said.
