EPIDEMIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DENGUE AMONG VIETNAMESE CHILDREN IN THE 2017 DENGUE OUTBREAK

Background: Dengue has spread rapidly in all regions during recent years and the epidemiological features of the disease have changed considerably despite many advances in epidemic prevention. Children and young adults have been the populations most at risk of dengue fever and severe complications. \r\nObjectives: Evaluate epidemiological characteristics and the severity of dengue among children in the 2017 dengue outbreak.\r\nResults: A review of 1446 paediatric cases with dengue in 2017 showed that male occupied predominantly for 56.9% of the total patients. Patients ≤ 1 year old, 2-5 years old, 6-12 years old and 13-18 years old accounted for 5.2%, 13.8%, 36.6% and 44.4% of the study sample, respectively. The major age group at the Children’s Hospital 1 was from 6-12 years old (44.4%) while at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, it was from 13-18 years old (61.6%). Dengue outbreak happens widely across Vietnam. In the Southern region, dengue occurs all year round and peaks in the rainy season from June to October, after that, the infection decreases at the end of the year but still maintaining until the beginning of next year. In comparison, dengue transmission in the Northern region had suddenly increased since June 2017, then hit a peak in August 2017 and declined in the remaining months until the end of the year. Speciality, the infection is highly endemic in the Southwest region. It also expanded to the Southeast provinces such as Dong Nai and Binh Duong where emerging industrial zones located. The number of patients with dengue fever in Hanoi in 2017 was not only the greatest in the Northern region but also in the whole country. Comorbidities reported in children were rare with the most frequent diseases being respiratory diseases, gastroenteritis or infections. The incidence of dengue fever, dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome made up 42%, 35.5% and 22.4%, respectively.\r\nConclusions: Our findings potentially develop a strategy for early detection, prognosis and proactive prevention of dengue in order to reduce the number of cases as well as the fatality rates.