Vietnam detected 5,500 dengue fever patients in the southern Mekong Delta over the past month, raising the total number so far this year to more than 15,500, including 17 fatalities.

Most of local sufferers are from the provinces of Soc Trang, Dong Thap, Hau Giang, An Giang and Bac Lieu, whose weather is most favorable for the development of mosquitoes -- the disease's transmitter, according to local newspaper Saigon Liberation on Thursday.

Local health agencies forecast that the disease could break out in August and September. They are encouraging residents to kill mosquitoes and their larvae more actively.

Vietnam reported 73,300 cases of dengue fever infections, including 101 fatalities last year, up 108 percent and 74 percent against the year earlier, respectively.

Source: Xinhua