HANOI, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese capital city Hanoi has reported 3,180 dengue fever cases so far this year, surging 5.7 times year-on-year, local newspaper Vietnam News reported on Tuesday.
The city could become the country's hotspot for dengue fever due to its high population density and rapid transmission rate, according to Nguyen Van Dung, head of the Entomology Department under the National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology.
The Hanoi Center for Disease Control (CDC) predicted that the dengue fever situation will be complicated in the near future because the epidemic is appearing earlier than in previous years, the newspaper reported.
Every year, dengue fever usually breaks out between October and December in Hanoi. However, this year, the number of cases has increased earlier than normal.
Since the beginning of this year, Vietnam has recorded nearly 57,300 cases of dengue fever, of which 13 died, according to the Ministry of Health.
The ministry has asked provincial and municipal health departments to strengthen prevention and control measures, and requested them to report to local people's committees to arrange and supplement funds for dengue fever prevention. ■
