Botulism Antitoxin (Photo: Children’s Hospital 2)Hanoi (VNA) – The (WHO) is urgently
contacting to find a source of rare drugs to support Vietnam in treating
botulinum poisoning cases, according to the (DAV)
under the Ministry of Health.
The DAV revealed that botulism is a rare but life-threatening condition that is
primarily caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The
poisoning is very rare both in Vietnam and around the world.
The main cause is that patients are infected with bacterial
toxins in poor-quality foods or eating poorly preserved foods. Since 2020, there
have been only a few cases each year, with three cases recently recorded
in Ho Chi Minh City.
Following the cases of botulinum poisoning in the southern
city, the DAV has worked with the WHO to seek assistance for supply of
antitoxin.
Furthermore, it has also asked the city’s Cho Ray Hospital
to contact importers and suppliers in order to get more drug supplies.
Most notably, the Ministry of Health has proposed
establishing storage centres for rare drugs in socio-economic regions and
setting up a mechanism for the expired rare drugs.
The Ministry of Health has also advised people to be
cautious by not preserving and using food that has been processed for a long
time, to avoid the risk of poisoning in general, and in
particular./.
Source: VietnamPlus
