VIENTIANE, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Lao health officials and medical staff at hospitals across the country, are endeavouring to combat the increasing number of dengue fever cases in 2019.
Many hospitals in the capital of Vientiane have converted corridors and meeting rooms into wards due to a lack of space to treat patients, and some facilities have even requested additional beds from the public to handle the growing number of dengue patients, local daily Vientiane Times reported on Friday.
On Wednesday, a total of 10,778 people had been diagnosed with dengue fever nationwide, and 25 have died since the beginning of 2019, according to a report by Lao Ministry of Health's Communicable Disease Control Department.
Deputy Director General of Setthathirath Hospital in Vientiane, Khamla Choumlivong told Lao media on Thursday that health authorities acknowledged that the dengue fever outbreak is higher in 2019 and increased numbers of patients are receiving treatment for the potentially fatal virus.
"Health authorities have admitted their concerns about the higher rate of dengue fever cases this year and Laos still faces challenges in preventing the disease," she said.
The Ministry of Health, under orders of Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, recently called on health officials and local authorities across the country to closely monitor their areas in the fight against dengue, hoping to reduce the number of cases, according to the National Center for Laboratory and Epidemiology.
