A child is vaccinated against in Hanoi’s Cau Giay district. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Health experts are advising people to take precautions to prevent
epidemics and diseases that frequently occur in the first three months of the
year during the humid weather and crowded festivals, said , head of
the Ministry of Health’s Department of Preventive Medicine.
Common spring epidemics involve acute , measles, viral
infections, Japanese encephalitis, chicken pox, meningitis and dengue fever.
Phu said epidemics, including dangerous and newly-emerging diseases such
as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus
(MERS-CoV), were becoming more complicated around the world.
A surge in measles cases has been recorded in some countries where the disease
had previously been eradicated while some types of avian flu have been reported
in neighbouring countries, posing risks of spreading via passengers and poultry
imported from infected areas.
These diseases were liable to enter the country unless drastic
preventive measures were taken, Phu said.
Luong Thi Thu Hien, head of the Internal Medicine
Department at the Hanoi-based E Hospital, said the number of chicken pox cases
among children usually rose in the spring.
Chicken pox was transmitted through the respiratory system.
Children and adults were easily infected with the disease in the winter-spring
season. Complications
such as pneumonia and encephalitis could harm patients, she said.
Nguyen Trung Cap, head of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases’ Emergency
Department, said the number of flu cases was always high at this time and
common among elderly people, pregnant women and children.
The most serious strains are A/H1N1 and B flu, which can lead to respiratory
failure and death.
Nguyen Ba Dang, an official from the Ministry of Health’s Department of Preventive Medicine, said spring
diseases could turn into an outbreak in areas where people were not vaccinated.
The ministry has urged authorities to increase vaccinations for measles and
rubella for children aged between one and five across the country.
It has also encouraged people to take
preventative methods such as regular hand washing, the safe processing of food
and keeping a clean living environment.
Adults also needed to take children to health centres to make sure their
vaccinations were up-to-date, it said.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
