Tran Dac Phu, head of the PreventiveMedicine Department, announced a range of activities in response toASEAN Dengue Day (June 15), at a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City onJune 12.

He stressed that given the fact that thereare no vaccines and medicines against dengue, preventative measures arestill the top priorities.

Accordingly, on June 14, ameeting is scheduled to take place in District 7 in Ho Chi Minh Citywith an estimated participation of 3,000 people. The same day, acommunication campaign on eliminating mosquito larvae will be launchedacross eight disease-prone cities and provinces nationwide, includingCan Tho, Vinh Long, Dong Nai, Da Nang and Dak Lak.

Meanwhile, the HCM City Pasteur Institute and Sanofi Pasteur co-organisea contest on making short films on the dengue topic. The competitionruns from June 12 to the first day of August.

Dengue prevention measures will also be promoted on local buses in Ho Chi Minh City.

The World Health Organisation said some 96 million dengue feverinfections were recorded annually worldwide, resulting in approximately12,500 deaths.

In Vietnam, there are up to 100,000people infected each year. In the first five months of 2015, more than10,000 cases were recorded.

In Ho Chi Minh only, asof June 4, over 4,600 people have been infected, an annual 27 percentincrease and two died of the disease.-VNA