Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The
abroad are likely to break out in Vietnam unless are taken,
head of the Health Ministry’s Preventive Medicine Department Tran Dac Phu warned
at a seminar in Hanoi on February 15 to launch tasks against epidemic infection
in the north.
Phu said vaccine-preventable diseases
are scattered in areas which record a low rate of and limited
public awareness of environmental and personal hygiene.
This year, the medical sector will
strengthen monitoring systems in border areas, medical stations and the
community to promptly discover and treat infections, and closely oversee influenza,
dengue, foot-and-mouth, Japanese encephalitis and Zika cases.
The ministry will continue building
emergency operations centres in several provinces, evaluating several new
, and consolidating quick-response teams in all channels.
It will also embark on a project to
improve the capacity of testing communicable diseases for 2016-2020, as well as
enhance the inoculation rate to at least 95 percent of the district’s level.
According to the department, there
were 110,876 dengue cases nationwide last year, including 36 fatalities, up 19
percent and down 18 cases, respectively, year-on-year.
More than 45,000 people were infected
with foot and mouth disease, down 19.3 percent, including one fatality compared
to six recorded in 2015.
Zika infection amounted to 219 cases
last year and 13 this year, mostly in southern metropolis Ho Chi Minh City and
a suspected microcephalic case in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.
Nguyen Duc Tien from the Health
Ministry’s Agency of Health Examination and Treatment said the agency has worked
to reduce potential fatalities, including ensuring a sufficient medical staff
to offer treatment to dengue patients, offering intensive training and
strengthening consultation on difficult cases.
This year, it will continue promoting
dengue treatment in the south by offering more training courses and launching a
supervision system.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
