There are currently 10,551 dengue fever patients in southern Viet Nam, over a 30-percent increase on last year, reported the Steering Board of Dengue Prevention in the South at a conference on Tuesday.

Doctors treat a dengue fever infant patient at a hospital in Can Tho City

The conference, held in the Dong Thap province, had met to discuss ways of mobilizing the battle against mosquito larva in order to prevent any further spread of the disease. 

Worryingly, the increasing number of Dengue patients included 10 fatal cases of the disease, which has spread throughout the Mekong delta provinces of Dong Thap, Tien Giang, Soc Trang, Kien Giang, Ben Tre and Tra Vinh.

The hardest-hit area has been the Dong Thap province, which has witnessed a 146.2 percent increase in the number of cases compared against figures from the same period last year, totaling 1,182 patients to date.

Deputy Head of the Ho Chi Minh City-based Pasteur Institute, Le Hoang San said relevant agencies must launch an anti-dengue campaign throughout all localities and provide local hospitals with modern equipment and medicine to help fight the epidemic.