HANOI, Aug.12 -- Dengue fever cases have overloaded hospitals in Vietnam's Central Highlands region, the epicenter of the mosquito-borne epidemic. Local health experts warned of impossibility to control it very soon.

Earlier on Wednesday, a 45-year-old man in Vietnam's Central Highlands Kon Tum province died allegedly of dengue fever, bringing Vietnam's total deaths related to the disease so far in 2016 to 18.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health (MoH) showed that as of the end of July, Vietnam has recorded 49,049 cases of dengue fever across the country.

Tran Dac Phu, director of the MoH's General Department of Preventive Medicine, was quoted by local Vietnam News on Friday that the dengue fever would continue to spread this year as an effect of the El Nino phenomenon and the cyclical nature of the disease which re-appears in every five years.

The infected cases occurred in the country's 48 out of 63 localities, with areas hardest hit by the virus in southern Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Phuoc, central Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Da Nang, and Central Highlands Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tom and Dak Nong, reported Vietnam News.

The health official blamed the outbreak to rainy season in the Central Highlands. The prolonged drought this year has forced local residents to store water in open water containers, providing perfect conditions for the development of mosquito larvae, said Phu.

Additionally, dengue fever hasn't been widespread in the Central Highlands region over the past few years. Thus, low immunity to the disease has contributed to its rapid infection rate, the official assessed.

Nguyen Loc Vuong, director of Kon Tum Province's Health Preventive Center, attributed the high rate of infections to local people's negligence to disease prevention.

Many residents were not aware of the risk of having open containers of water in their homes which were ideal places for mosquitoes to lay eggs, he said.

To strengthen dengue fever prevention, Vietnamese government has offered emergency amount of some two billion Vietnamese dong (89,660 U.S. dollars) and an additional 1,200 liters of chemicals to kill mosquitoes in four Central Highlands provinces which were seriously affected by the disease.

Phu called on People's Committees and relevant offices to take measures to prevent the spread of the disease such as cleaning up living environments, spraying mosquito repellents and asking people to use mosquito nets while sleeping.

To reduce the mosquito population, it is necessary for people to get rid of places where mosquitoes can breed, he said. These include old tires, cans or flower pots that collect rain.