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Cases of hand-foot-mouth disease in HCMC last week are 2.1 times more than last month. |
The Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control predicted that the cases would continue to increase sharply in the upcoming weeks. It is expected that hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City would receive 80 percent of severe cases for treatment from other localities.
All of the city's districts recorded numerous number of hand-foot-mouth disease cases during the last week compared to the average level 4 weeks ago, notably in Binh Tan, Tan Phu and Binh Chanh districts.
Previously, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health sent a letter to the Ministry of Health to report the complicated development of hand-foot-mouth disease in the Southern region. Besides, the department also reported that the city’s health sector only has 2,400 vials of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) dedicated for severe patient treatment. Meanwhile, a new batch of IVIG drugs is scheduled to be imported into Vietnam by the end of August with limited quantities.
Amid the ongoing rapid and complicated disease development situation, the city’s health sector is likely to face a shortage of drugs for the treatment of hand-foot-mouth infections from the end of July.
The municipal Department of Health proposed the Ministry of Health assign the largest hospitals in some provinces and cities such as Ca Mau Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, Can Tho City Children’s Hospital and Dong Nai Province Children’s Hospital which meet the requirement of collecting samples and performing treatment for hand-foot-mouth disease to receive severe patients from their neighboring localities. Moreover, the Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health is proposed to soon approve the import orders for IVIG drugs if any.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control, last week, Ho Chi Minh City also recorded 238 cases of dengue fever, up 16.7 percent compared to the average of four weeks ago. Notably, Binh Chanh District and districts 1 and 8 are three localities with a high number of cases.
