MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Downer
Today I visited the Nghia Hiep commune, My Van district, Hung Yen province
to view the achievements of an eradication program which is part of the
Australian Government funded Community Programmes in Dengue Control in
Vietnam Project.
This is a highly successful, but inexpensive, community-based effort which
has achieved remarkable results in reducing dengue fever infection to
negligible levels.
I would like to congratulate the Vietnamese National Institute for Hygiene
and Epidemiology for its innovative approach to the reduction of dengue
fever.
During the visit I was able to pay tribute to those involved in the project,
including the Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia and the Pacific,
the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Queensland University of
Technology and the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology in
Vietnam.
The project has delivered a 99 per cent reduction in mosquito rates in six
selected communes in the northern provinces of Hung Yen, Hai Phong and Nam
Dinh. Four of the six communes reported 100% successful eradication of
Aedes Aegypti, the mosquito that transmits the Dengue virus.
The project has pioneered the use of the naturally occurring crustacean
Mesocyclops, to control dengue mosquitos. When introduced into
water containers where mosquitos breed, Mesocyclops can eliminate larval
populations in a short period of time. Local volunteers help manage the
process, controlling the number of Mesocyclops breeding in water
containers and organising community education programmes to increase knowledge
on dengue fever control.
The project has now been expanded to include Quang Nam, Quang Ngai and Khanh
Hoa provinces of central Vietnam, where the incidence of dengue fever remains
high.
Since 1995, the Australian Government, through the Australian Agency for
International Development (AusAID), has committed over A$1.5 million (VND 10.8
billion) to the project.
Dengue fever remains a major health threat in Vietnam and its eradication
has emerged as a major preventive health priority. The last major epidemic in
1998 resulted in 234,866 cases and 383 deaths, according to the World Health
Organization. In the first six months of this year, over 9,000 cases and 22
deaths have been recorded.
Media enquiries:
Chris Kenny (Ministerial) 0419 206 890
Jo Elsom (AusAID) 02 6206 4960 or 0412 804 489
Catherine Gill (Australian Embassy Hanoi) +84 4 831 7755 (ext 120)