HCMC – The HCMC government has urged local medical facilities to take action in response to the spread of dengue fever and the Marburg virus.

The city People’s Committee asked the Health Department to monitor passengers from high-risk areas and have contingency plans for coping with public health issues that may arise.

Dengue fever cases in HCMC during the first two months of the year increased by 1.47 times compared to the same period of 2022, according to officials.

Local healthcare centers were advised to prepare drugs and equipment given the peak of the disease, from March to April and July to November.

Moreover, incoming Africans should stay in quarantine for 21 days if they come from a country hit by the Marburg virus disease, or MVD.

Marburg, transmitted to people from fruit bats, is spread by human-to-human transmission via direct contact.

The MVD case fatality rate is 50% on average. It ranges from 24% to 88% depending on the virus strain and patient conditions, according to the World Health Organization.

There is currently no licensed treatment that has been proven to neutralize the virus.

MVD is classified as a Class-A infectious disease, along with influenza A-H5N1, Ebola and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, also known as SARS, as stated in the 2007 Law on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases.