The National Children’s Hospital has received more than 300 infected patients since the beginning of 2018, most of them have not been vaccinated (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – An unexpected spike in the number of
children catching measles in Hanoi this summer has left doctors worrying about
a potential outbreak, given that 90 percent of the infected children reportedly
had yet to receive a vaccination.
Pham Thi Lanh from Bac Tu Liem district has spent the last few
days in E Hospital, taking care of her nine-month-old baby, who is being
treated for measles.
She was supposed to take him to receive a vaccination 15 days ago
as the doctors recommended, but a fever coming along with the baby’s first
tooth delayed the plan.
Shortly after that, he fell seriously sick and was diagnosed with
measles, she told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
Lanh’s son was one of hundreds of babies and children hospitalised
due to measles in the capital since May, who caught the disease after not
getting a vaccination.
A report by the showed that
there were 233 measles cases recorded as of July 10, tripling the number of
infections last year. The disease was detected across the whole city with
patients coming from all 29 districts, though the density was higher in urban
areas. No deaths have been reported so far.
The centre’s director Nguyen Nhat Cam said that the infected were
disproportionately children under five, of which infants under 1 year old were
the largest group.
Doctor Do Thien Hai, Deputy Director of the National Hospital of
Paediatrics’ Department of Infectious Diseases, said that the measles
vaccination rate in Vietnam currently stands at 95 percent, meaning that 5
percent are still unvaccinated every year.
“When the numbers [of ] accumulate enough, it
is very easy for a measles outbreak to start,” he said.
“If the children fall sick during the scheduled time for
vaccination, parents shouldn’t completely delay it but try to pick another time
a little bit later for the vaccination.”
News of the increase in measles cases in Hanoi, meanwhile, drove
many parents in Ho Chi Minh City to have their toddlers
vaccinated.
A 34-year-old mother in Phu Nhuan district said that her son was
supposed to have the double and rubella at 18
months old, but now he is already 3 and has yet to have the injection. Hearing
about what was happening in Hanoi, she planned to get him vaccinated as soon as
possible.
Another mother from Binh Thanh district also shared that she
recently took her 23-month-old baby to the health centre to have the second
vaccine injection for measles that she missed when he was 18 months old.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can spread very fast
and cause an outbreak. Measles is the leading cause of death in children and is
particularly dangerous to children under three.-VNS/VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
