The in the has brought with it an increase in sicknesses like measles, mumps, flu and chicken pox, local reports say (Photo baongheaan.vn)
Hanoi (VNA) – The first cold spell of winter in the northern
region has brought with it an increase in sicknesses like measles, mumps, flu
and chicken pox, local reports say.
In recent days, the number of patients seeking hospital treatment
for such diseases has gone up. While these are not serious health hazards in
most cases, not abiding by the doctors’ advice and instructions can lead to
complications.
At one of the largest hospitals in the country, Bach Mai Hospital
in Hanoi, a 35-year-old woman from Nam Tu Liem district, was seen last week
with fever, headache and swelling of the parotid gland (between the ear and the
jaw) that she’d been suffering for a week.
However, as is a common practice in Vietnam, assuming that her
symptoms were nothing to worry about, she chose to self-medicate with
antibiotics. She only visited the hospital after five days, when the medicines
proved futile and she started vomiting and getting splitting headaches.
The hospital inspected her cerebrospinal fluid and concluded that
the patient was suffering from viral meningitis. Previously, her five-year-old
child and her husband had both caught mumps.
Dr Do Duy Cuong said that the general population still thinks that
measles are a “children’s disease”.
He said: “It’s true that those children who have not been given
immunisation shots are at elevated risk, but any adult who has not been
vaccinated remains just as vulnerable.”
Even though under most circumstances, measles or are ‘mild
contagious illnesses,’ failure to get professional treatment and ensure proper
care can turn out to be quite dangerous, Cuong warned, adding that anyone who
has doubts about his or her symptoms should immediately go to the hospital.
According to the municipal health department, in recent weeks, the
city has recorded another nine cases of rashes breaking out, of which three
have tested positive for measles. Since the beginning of this year, the number
of measles cases seen is 66 (including one death), an increase of 64 cases over
last year. The number of cases reported in October alone accounted for 46 percent
of the year’s total figure.
Nguyen Nhat Cam, head of the health department, said the speed at
which spreads is considered to be faster than dengue fever, which saw
its worst outbreak since 2014 a few months ago.
The cold weather with the likelihood of rains makes for “ideal
conditions” for the disease to flare up, he added. One or more measles’
complications occur in 30 percent of child patients, usually including
pneumonia, ear infection, diarrhea, keratitis or encephalitis.
He said parents should watch carefully for unusual signs
post-measles, especially if the child has fever after the rash has gone.
Cam also said that the most effective prevention method is
vaccination. However, there are 30,000 children in the capital city who have
not been given immunisation shots, and they are a potential time bomb, ticking
towards another measles outbreak.
The health department has asked schools to publicise information
on measles patients who are their students or staff, and to carry out
preventive hygiene works.
The department forbids any “cover up attempts,” Cam said, adding
that public health agencies are also tasked with reviewing the list of
unvaccinated children under their jurisdiction and urging their parents to
follow the regular immunisation schedule.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
