Activities respond to ASEAN Dengue Day

Dong Thap, June 11 (VNA) - A national-level meeting will be held in Cao Lanh city, the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap, on June 15 in response to the fourth ASEAN Dengue Day. The Health Ministry said on June 10 that about 5,200 people, including the ministry’s leaders, local people and representatives from international organisations and ASEAN member countries’ consulates in Vietnam, will take part in the event. A 3-kilometre run will be organised after the meeting in order to raise public awareness of dengue prevention efforts. The ministry called on individuals to join hands in the fight against the disease by keeping their living environment clean and complying with hygiene regulations. According to Tran Dac Phu, head of the Preventive Health Department, so far this year more than 10,200 dengue cases have been recorded in 42 provinces and cities. The disease has claimed seven lives since the beginning of 2014. Dengue fever is one of the most dangerous mosquito-transmitted diseases. The World Health Organisation estimates that 50-100 million people suffer from it around the globe and about 24,000 are died from the disease annually. ASEAN and its 10 member countries and the World Health Organisation (WHO) named June 15 as the ASEAN Dengue Day, with the aim of raising public awareness and strengthening coordination among countries in the prevention and fight against the disease.-VNA