HANOI, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Seven people have died from dengue fever in southern Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) this year, local media reported on Wednesday.
In the first four months of this year, HCMC reported nearly 8,500 dengue fever cases, up 28 percent year on year, daily newspaper Thanh Nien reported, citing the country's Ministry of Health.
The health ministry has urged the public to clear potential mosquito breeding sites around their homes to help control the spread of dengue fever.
The southern business hub has also reported an increasing number of cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease, said the report.
Over the four months, the city detected nearly 2,600 cases of hand-foot-and-mouth disease, 96 percent between the age of one to 5, while the country reported over 5,500 cases of such disease, said the ministry.
According to the World Health Organization, as of May 8, a total of 25,694 cases of dengue fever, including 13 deaths, had been reported in Vietnam this year.
