A scientific seminar held by Hanoi-based Bach Mai hospital and Japan’s Nagoya University on September 16. Medical experts said that many Vietnamese people are infected with the bacteria which causes gastric ulcer and may lead to gastric cancer also.
Dr. Vu Truong Khanh from Bach Mai Hospital said that the rate of drug-resistance in Vietnam is quite high; accordingly, many medications for H.pylori treatment success rate is 80 - 90 percent in the world but it is under 80 percent in the Southeast Asian country even some have rate of 50 - 60 percent.
The bacteria is likely to spread in a couple of ways. One is the fecal-oral route, such as through contaminated food or water sources. It can also be transmitted from one person to another, mouth to mouth.
As per a study, every 1,000 adults in Hanoi, 700 of them are infected with H pylori while 90 percent of residents in Ho Chi Minh City suffering gastroenteritis have presence of HP in their stomach. Experts said that it is necessary to kill the bacteria to prevent complications
Nevertheless, doctors warned of high rate of drug resistance because people abuse antibiotic and patients change doctors’ prescription by themselves which lead to the bacteria resists to many antibiotic kinds. It results in difficulties for doctors and long time for treatment.
Director of Bach Mai Hospital Dr. Nguyen Quoc Anh said that from November , 2013, the first scientific seminar on the issue was held with the help of Japan’s Nagoya University. The second seminar was held in July, 2014 which opened up a great turning point with the establishment of A Vietnam - Japan digestive endoscopy center at Bach Mai Hospital.
More than 300 Vietnamese and Japanese professors and doctors attended the symposium to exchange experience, especially Vietnamese doctors have chance to learn from their Japanese counterparts.
