After one case of meningitis was reported in Hanoi and one death caused by meningitis in the Northern province of Hai Duong and cases of meningitis are on upward trend, the Ministry of Health warned people of prevention of the fatal disease.
According to the Ministry’s guideline, people should conduct good personal hygiene including regularly washing hands with soaps, rinsing out their mouth with antiseptic solution as well as cleaning environment around the house and working office. Parents should take their children to medical clinics for vaccination.
Anyone experiencing high fever, headache vomiting and stiff neck should go to medical institutions immediately for timely treatment. Hospitals across the country must soon isolate meningitis patients and provide treatment as soon as possible to prevent death as well as inform the Department of Preventive Medicine to handle the outbreak,
The Ministry added that the winter-spring season is conducive to meningitis which cause by Neisseria meningtidis virus. Normally, before it becomes epidemic yet fewer cases of the disease have been detected.
According to the Ministry’s statistic, from 2011, the country has 610 cases of meningitis. 2011 is the year when has most cases of meningitis with 272 infected people. Since 2012, the number of people infected with meningitis and death leaped. The Department of Preventive Medicine in districts are in charge of stopping spreading of the disease.
While the disease re-occurred, many parents in Hanoi took their children to medical facilities for immunization yet they got disappointed as vaccine against the disease is short. Dr. Tran Dac Phu, head of the Central Department of Preventive Medicine said that no vaccine against meningitis is available and it is scheduled to have the vaccine in April.
