At the working session, Doctor Ngo Ngoc Quang Minh, Deputy Director of Children's Hospital 1, reported that the hospital had not received any measles case from the beginning of the year until June 2024.
However, at the beginning of August, the number of measles cases has significantly increased, with 368 cases. 11 percent of cases are severe and under intensive care requirements.
Notably, two-thirds of these patients are transferred from other provinces and cities and over 50 percent of the patients are children under one year old.
Reportedly, all severe cases under intensive care requirement had not received the full two doses of the measles vaccine.
Currently, the Children's Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City has not recorded any deaths due to measles.
The hospital has received approximately 600 cases of dengue fever and 900 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease over the past eight months.
Due to the rapid rise in measles cases in several provinces and cities, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee declared a measles outbreak across the city.
Amid the significant increase, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong also required to prevent the risk of an overlapping epidemic with hand-foot-mouth disease and dengue fever.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Lien Huong noted that Ho Chi Minh City should prioritize measles vaccinations for children aged one to five years, followed by booster vaccination for children aged five to ten years and medical staff who have not been vaccinated and those at high risk.
On the same day, the delegation from the Ministry of Health will have another working session with the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee regarding measles prevention.
