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An increase in children hospitalization during seasonal transition |
The current changing weather makes it easy for viruses, bacteria, and insects to multiply, making children - who have an immature immune system, are at risk of diseases from the respiratory and digestive tracts. Doctors It is recommended that keeping body hygiene, adequate nutrition, reasonable rest along with vaccination for children are effective measures to prevent seasonal diseases during the seasonal transition.
Waiting for her child’s turn to be examined at the Ho Chi Minh City-based Children's Hospital 2’s Department of Medical Examination yesterday, Ms. Nguyen Tran Thanh Mai in District 12 said that her daughter has had a fever for three days, even though she took medicines to reduce fever. Worse, she started coughing and eating poorly, so I took him to the doctor." After being tested, Mai's daughter was diagnosed with a viral fever, prescribed medication, and scheduled for a follow-up visit.
Doctor Nguyen Thanh Hai, Head of the Examination Department, Children's Hospital 2, said that over the past half month, there has been an increase in the number of children with respiratory diseases coming to the clinic; the infirmary received about 100-150 children a day; most had a viral fever, followed by signs of upper respiratory tract infection.
Children's Hospital 1 also recorded a 20 percent-25 percent increase in child hospitalization due to respiratory diseases compared to before; most have pneumonia, and bronchiolitis due to viral infections.
Recently, Ho Chi Minh City recorded clusters of respiratory illnesses at a school in District 10, causing 20 students to miss school. The samples tested positive for influenza A/H1N1. Previously, more than 200 students from Le Van Tam Secondary School and Lam Son Secondary School in Binh Thanh District also had symptoms of fever and fatigue. Assoc. Prof Do Van Dung, Dean of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy’s Faculty of Public Health acknowledged that the clusters of respiratory-related illnesses in schools have appeared recently, mostly due to the seasonal change.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Hanoi, in the first three months of this year, more than 550 cases of chickenpox were recorded, mainly in preschool and primary school children, 117 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, and nearly 200 cases of hemorrhage.
Head of the Children's Hospital’s Department of Examination in Can Tho City Truong Cam Trinh said that from the beginning of March until now, the number of patients has tended to increase, with an average of 1,900 patients per day. According to statistics of the Ministry of Health, the country has recorded over 3,300 cases of chickenpox; more than 13,000 cases of dengue fever, many cases of influenza A and hand, foot and mouth disease.
Seasonal change is also the time when diarrhea, infections, food poisoning, hand, foot and mouth disease and dengue fever increase.
The Ministry of Health proposed that people's committees in provinces and cities take the initiative in formulating and implementing plans for the prevention of infectious diseases. Departments of Health should be ready for the implementation of preventive measures and response to possible epidemic situations. Medical quarantine, monitoring and supervision at border gates, in the community and in medical facilities should be strengthened for early detection, and timely and thorough handling of outbreaks to minimize the cases of severe transfer and deaths.
