Number of children with respiratory illnesses, acute diarrhoea and dengue fever has increased sharply

HCM City (VNA) - The number of children with respiratory illnesses, acute
diarrhoea and dengue fever has increased sharply in recent days, according to
hospitals in HCM City .

The HCM City Paediatrics Hospital No 1's Respiratory Diseases Ward is severely
overstretched, having to take in as many as 200-230 inpatients a day while it has
just 100 beds.

At the Digestive Ward of HCM City Paediatrics Hospital No 2, many inpatients are
suffering from acute diarrhoea.

Environmental pollution as well as unsafe and unhygienic food have increased
considerably the risk of diarrhoea in children, according to doctors.

The HCM City Health Department has ordered relevant agencies to implement measures
to control further outbreaks of diarrhoea. It has urged district authorities to
strengthen awareness campaigns about the disease, including prevention measures
like using boiled water, eating well cooked food and washing hands with soap and
water before eating.

Meanwhile, the Pasteur Institute has noted that the city is now having about 500
patients with dengue fever every week, up 50 percent compared to the same period
last year.

In this case, it is not just children, but the number of adults contracting the
mosquito-borne disease is also on the increase.

On December 6, a first-grade student of the Chuong Duong Primary School in
District 1 died of dengue fever, said Nguyen Van The, director of the District 1
Preventive Health Centre. - Enditem