HANOI, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Incidences of dengue fever is on the rise in Vietnam nationwide in 2008, with the estimated number of cases contracted dengue fever to over 78,000, the local newspaper Liberty Sai Gon reported on Tuesday.

    In November alone, Vietnam registered 15,000 new cases of dengue fever infections in 40 out of 64 provinces and cities, 15 of which were fatal, Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu said, quoted by the daily.

    Up till now, Vietnam has seen 79 deaths from 78,512 dengue fever cases nationwide this year. The death rate from dengue fever thus has increased by 13 cases over the same period last year, according to the ministry's statistics.

    The recent floods in northern provinces and the ongoing floods in central and southern provinces of Vietnam have created stagnant bodies of water and perfect breeding grounds for the mosquitoes, causing the disease spread.

    To eliminate the disease, Vietnam has taken drastic measures, including ensuring environmental hygiene and intensifying publicity on acute diarrhea, especially in flood-hit localities.