Lately, cases of measles amongst adults and children have jumped drastically; worse, the disease attacking pregnant women and people with chronic disease will easily cause serious complication.
From the beginning of the year, Hanoi- based Bach Mai Hospital’s Department of Infectious Disease Ward has admitted a few cases of measles.
Head of the ward Dr. Do Duy Cuong said that last year, there were only 50 cases of measles, but there were five to seven cases a week within two first weeks of this year .
Most of cases are living in Hanoi and neighboring northern provinces such as Ha Nam, Hung Yen, Bac Giang and patients were female in the age of 25 - 40.
Terribly, some of them were unvaccinated pregnant women. Accordingly, they had to stay in the infirmary to have timely treatment if having complications. Most patients contracted the disease through contacting between healthy persons with ill persons, said Dr. Do Duy Cuong.
Head of the Ho Chi Minh City-based Tropical Disease Hospital’s Medical ward Dr. Huynh Thi Thuy Hoa said from the beginning of the year, the hospital has received 65 cases of measles excluding outpatients; medical workers warned of an increase of measles patients.
Meantime, medical workers of the Children Hospital No.2 are treating 61 measles patients including five in serious condition and using the ventilator. Head of the Infectious Disease ward Dr. Do Chau Viet, said 70 percent of kid patients in the ward are hailing from southern provinces.
The youngest patient is around four months old. Worse, they have heart disease, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Preventive Medicine Center’s statistics, in the first week of the year, there was overwhelming surge of dengue, hand-foot-and-mouth and measles cases in kids but there was no report of death.
Specifically, in the first week, 60 cases of measles were reported whereas no cases of measles had been reported in the same period last year. Presently, 24/24 districts have cases of measles with most cases in districts 8, 12, Thu Duc and Binh Tan.
Following the complicated development of measles, medical workers said measles is normally a bening disease of children; therefore, patients can stay in local clinics for one week.
However, if a kid with another disease contract measles or complications induced by measles infection, he/she must be treated in big hospital because measles causes encephalitis in both adults and children with measles infection.
Dr. Huynh Thi Thuy Hoa pointed out some people disregarded the disease as they refused to vaccinate or continue contacting with people around without applying preventative measures whereas others made it serious.
She advised people to have good behaviors to the disease. They should have shot of vaccine and go to medical facilities for examination. Pregnant women and people with chronic disease should go to infirmaries as soon as possible.
Along with the rise in measles cases, the Department of Medical Preventative also warned of some contagious diseases including influenza type A in poultry in come localities.
