This was heard at an online conference on strengthening disease prevention and control in 2024 for the Southern region yesterday held by the Pasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City and chaired by Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong.
At the conference, Dr. Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, informed about the development of infectious diseases in the city. According to Dr. Chau, the most concerning is the increase in vaccine-preventable diseases such as whooping cough and measles. As of the 23rd week of 2024, the city has recorded 30 cases of whooping cough, 90 percent of which are children under 5 years old and 44 percent have not yet reached the age to receive the first dose of the whooping cough vaccine.
In addition, Ho Chi Minh City has recorded 16 cases of measles. Of which, 15 cases are under 5 years old and 85 percent of under 5 years old cases have not been fully vaccinated according to the schedule. The patients are living in District 8, Binh Tan District, Hoc Mon District and Binh Chanh District.
In the face of the risk of measles spreading, the health sector has stepped up vaccination and catch-up vaccination against measles for children at health stations. At the same time, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health is advising the city People's Committee to issue a plan to proactively prevent measles in the city.
Under the plan, the city will focus on early detection of suspected measles and rash fever cases, take blood samples for testing, conduct epidemiological investigations and zoning. Children's Hospital 1, Children's Hospital 2, Children's Hospital of the City and Tropical Diseases Hospital are responsible for receiving measles patients and treating them while ensuring to control infection and prevent cross-contamination in medical facilities.
Furthermore, Ho Chi Minh City is currently recording 6,210 cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease, and no EV71 strain (the strain that causes severe hand, foot, and mouth disease) has been detected. The cumulative number of dengue fever cases in the city as of the 23rd week of 2024 was 3,677 with no deaths, and the number of cases has decreased compared to the same period last year. The southern largest city has recorded 36 monkeypox cases; all are male patients, in 21/22 districts and Thu Duc City without deaths.
