Fever lasting two to three days demands a doctor's visit during dengue season
As the wet season deepens across southern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City finds itself contending with two ancient adversaries — hand, foot and mouth disease and dengue fever — both surging simultaneously in 2026 with a ferocity that has filled pediatric wards and claimed at least six lives. The city's health authorities have responded with expanded immunization proposals and hospital reinforcements, but the numbers — HFMD cases up 164 percent year-on-year, dengue up 71 percent — remind us that infectious disease does not wait for institutions to catch up. In the gap between outbreak and response, it is ordinary families, and most often children, who bear the weight.
- Ho Chi Minh City recorded over 15,000 HFMD cases and nearly 16,000 dengue cases by early May 2026, with six deaths combined — a pace that has overwhelmed some local facilities and forced transfers to specialist children's hospitals.
- A 10-year-old girl's dengue case escalated from fever and vomiting to multi-organ failure within days, revealing how rapidly the disease can turn catastrophic, particularly in children with underlying vulnerabilities.
- Haemophagocytic syndrome — a rare, extreme immune overreaction triggered by dengue — pushed her ferritin levels to nearly 50,000 µg/L and brought her to the edge of liver, kidney, and clotting failure before anti-inflammatory treatment broke the crisis within 24 hours.
- Health authorities insist the overall situation remains under control, but have simultaneously submitted proposals for an expanded immunization program running through 2028 and are mobilizing training and technical support across the city's hospital network.
- Clinicians are urging parents not to delay: any child with fever lasting two to three days alongside abdominal pain, vomiting, or bleeding signs during dengue season should be seen by a doctor immediately — early intervention is the difference between recovery and catastrophe.
Ho Chi Minh City is facing a simultaneous surge in two infectious diseases that has sent families rushing to hospitals with sick children. Figures released by the municipal Department of Health on May 11 showed HFMD cases exploding 163.6 percent in April alone compared to March, and more than doubling April's numbers from the prior year. From January through early May, the city logged 15,104 cumulative HFMD cases — a 164 percent increase over the same period in 2025 — with five deaths. Dengue has moved in parallel, reaching 15,935 cases by May 3, up 71 percent year-on-year, with one death recorded. The hardest-hit communities span outer communes and urban wards alike.
What has alarmed clinicians is not only the volume of cases but the severity of some presentations. Professor Phạm Văn Quang of Children's Hospital 1's Intensive Care and Poison Control Department described a troubling pattern of dengue patients arriving in shock with multi-organ failure. A recent case made the danger vivid: a 10-year-old girl from Đồng Tháp Province ran a high fever for five days, vomiting and suffering abdominal pain, before being diagnosed with dengue shock syndrome. Her liver enzyme levels climbed to 100 times above normal despite anti-shock treatment at her first hospital. Transferred to Children's Hospital 1, she developed respiratory failure, unstable blood pressure, and worsening liver damage.
The medical team administered respiratory support, albumin-based anti-shock treatment, blood transfusions, and clotting products — yet her fever held. Further testing identified haemophagocytic syndrome, a rare but catastrophic immune overreaction, with ferritin levels approaching 50,000 µg/L. After specialists introduced anti-inflammatory medication, her fever broke within 24 hours. Over the following week, her liver, kidney, and clotting functions normalized, and she was expected to be discharged soon. The case, Quang stressed, underscores how quickly dengue can become fatal without prompt, specialized care.
The city's health department maintains the broader situation is under control and that no major outbreaks of dangerous infectious diseases have been declared. Still, it has proposed an expanded immunization program covering 2026 through 2028, and upper-level hospitals are being tasked with supporting lower-tier facilities through training and technical guidance. The message from the wards is unambiguous: during dengue season, a child with fever lasting two to three days — especially with abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, or any bleeding signs — should not wait.
Ho Chi Minh City is wrestling with a dual surge in infectious disease that has caught the attention of public health officials and sent families rushing to hospitals with fevered children. The municipal Department of Health released figures on May 11 showing that hand, foot and mouth disease—HFMD—exploded in April alone, with 5,243 cases recorded in a single month. That represented a jump of 163.6 percent from March and more than doubled the April numbers from the year before.
The scale becomes clearer when you look at the year-to-date picture. From January through mid-April, the city had logged 12,063 HFMD cases, a 164 percent increase compared to the same window in 2025. By early May, that number had climbed to 15,104 cases. Five people have died from the disease so far this year. The hardest-hit areas include Con Dao Special Zone, Bình Khanh Commune, and Long Dien Commune, where infection rates per 100,000 residents have been particularly steep.
Dengue fever is moving in parallel. Through mid-April, the city had recorded 13,738 dengue cases—a 71 percent increase over the same period last year. By May 3, cumulative cases had reached 15,935. One death has been attributed to dengue so far in 2026. An Nhon Tay Commune, Tay Nam Ward, and Tay Thạnh Ward have seen the highest infection concentrations. The city has also reported 168 measles cases, 18 Covid-19 cases, and one Mpox case, though none of those have resulted in deaths.
What makes dengue particularly alarming in this moment is not just the volume of cases but the severity of some presentations. Professor Phạm Văn Quang, who heads the Intensive Care and Poison Control Department at Children's Hospital 1, has witnessed a troubling pattern: patients arriving with dengue shock syndrome accompanied by multi-organ failure. The hospital recently treated a 10-year-old girl from Đồng Tháp Province whose case illustrates how quickly dengue can turn catastrophic. She had run a high fever for five days straight, vomiting and experiencing abdominal pain, before being admitted to a local facility. By the fifth day of illness, she was diagnosed with dengue shock syndrome. Her weight—she was overweight—appeared to compound her vulnerability.
Despite aggressive anti-shock fluid treatment at the first hospital, her liver enzyme levels climbed to 100 times above normal. When she was transferred to Children's Hospital 1, her condition deteriorated further. She developed respiratory failure, unstable blood pressure, and worsening liver damage. The medical team moved quickly with respiratory support, anti-shock treatment using albumin, blood transfusions, and blood products to stabilize her clotting function. Yet her fever persisted. Further testing revealed haemophagocytic syndrome—a rare but catastrophic complication of dengue characterized by an extreme inflammatory response. Her ferritin levels approached 50,000 µg/L, a sign of severe immune dysregulation.
Intensive care and blood specialists consulted and decided to administer anti-inflammatory medication. Within 24 hours, her fever broke. Over the following week, her liver, kidney, and blood clotting functions normalized. She became alert, began eating normally, and was expected to be discharged soon. But the case left an imprint on Quang's thinking about what parents need to know. He emphasized that haemophagocytic syndrome tied to dengue, while uncommon, is highly dangerous and can lead to liver failure, kidney failure, coagulation collapse, and death without prompt treatment.
The city's health department says the overall disease situation remains under control and that no major outbreaks of dangerous infectious diseases have been reported. Still, the numbers tell a story of strain. The department has submitted a proposal to the city government seeking approval for an expanded immunization program covering 2026 through 2028. Upper-level hospitals have been tasked with providing technical support to lower-level facilities, and training courses are being organized across the city to strengthen medical capacity, treatment readiness, and infection prevention. The health sector is continuing preventive measures and monitoring efforts, but the message from clinicians like Quang is clear: parents should not wait. Any child with a fever lasting two to three days, especially if accompanied by abdominal pain, persistent vomiting, or bleeding symptoms during dengue season, needs to see a doctor immediately.
Notable Quotes
Haemophagocytic syndrome linked to dengue fever is rare, but it is highly dangerous and can lead to liver failure, kidney failure, coagulation disorders and death if not treated promptly.— Professor Phạm Văn Quang, head of Intensive Care and Poison Control Department, Children's Hospital 1
Parents should bring children to medical facilities early if they develop fever lasting two to three days accompanied by abdominal pain, persistent vomiting or bleeding symptoms during dengue season.— Professor Phạm Văn Quang
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why is this happening now? Is there something about the season, or the conditions in the city, that's driving both diseases at the same time?
Both HFMD and dengue thrive in warm, humid conditions, and May in Ho Chi Minh City is deep into that window. But the simultaneous surge suggests something broader—possibly lower immunity in the population, or simply that the viruses are circulating more freely than they have in recent years. The health department hasn't pinpointed a single cause.
The girl's case—the one with haemophagocytic syndrome—how rare is that, really? Should parents be terrified?
Quang was careful to say it's rare. But the point he was making is that when it does happen, it moves fast and it's lethal without intervention. The girl had warning signs—five days of fever, vomiting, abdominal pain—that should have triggered alarm. Parents shouldn't be terrified, but they should be alert. Two to three days of fever in dengue season is the threshold.
The numbers are striking—164 percent increase in HFMD year-on-year. That's not a gradual creep. That's a spike. What does the health department think is going to happen next?
They're saying it's under control, but they're also asking for expanded immunization programs through 2028 and strengthening hospital capacity. Those aren't the moves of a system that thinks this is temporary. They're preparing for sustained pressure.
Is there a vaccine for dengue?
There are dengue vaccines, but they're not universally available or used in Vietnam the way they are in some other countries. The expanded immunization program the department is proposing might include dengue, but that's still in the proposal stage.
What about HFMD? Can you prevent that?
HFMD is primarily viral—enterovirus 71 or coxsackievirus A16. There's no specific vaccine widely deployed. Prevention is mostly about hygiene: handwashing, keeping surfaces clean, keeping sick children home. It spreads through contact with respiratory droplets and fecal matter, so in crowded urban settings like Ho Chi Minh City, it moves easily.
So the city is essentially waiting to see if these numbers stabilize, while trying to build better hospital capacity and faster response systems.
Exactly. They're not in crisis mode, but they're not complacent either. The real test will be whether the numbers peak soon or continue climbing through the summer.