According to information from the infectious disease surveillance system, Nghe An province has recorded a case of a patient dying from diphtheria and a case of the disease in Bac Giang province that had close contact with the death case in Nghe An.
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To proactively strengthen the prevention and control of diphtheria, and prevent the disease from spreading for a long time and widely, the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health has just issued a document requesting the Directors of the Departments of Health of Nghe An and Bac Giang provinces to direct units and localities to strengthen the screening of cases in close contact with diphtheria cases;
Monitor and promptly detect suspected cases at outbreaks and in the community, take samples for testing to promptly identify cases, implement measures to thoroughly handle outbreaks, organize investigations and provide prophylactic antibiotic treatment for all close contacts according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health.
Ensure the work of admission, emergency, examination and treatment of patients; establish separate areas for examination, isolation, treatment and emergency care of patients, minimizing deaths; strictly implement infection control and cross-infection prevention at medical examination and treatment facilities, and limit the transfer of patients to higher-level hospitals when not necessary.
Review and count subjects who have not been vaccinated or have not been fully vaccinated against diphtheria in all communes and wards and organize supplementary and catch-up vaccinations, especially in areas where diphtheria is prevalent and vaccination rates are low.
Promote propaganda activities about diphtheria and preventive measures so that people can proactively implement disease prevention measures and closely coordinate with medical units during treatment.
Organize close monitoring of the health of children, pupils and students at training facilities; regularly clean and ventilate classrooms, promptly notify medical facilities when detecting suspected cases of the disease for timely isolation and treatment, and prevent outbreaks.
Review and ensure logistics of vaccines, preventive antibiotics, antitoxin serum, chemicals, etc. to carry out anti-epidemic tasks; report to the Provincial People's Committee to arrange funding and mobilize resources to support logistics for epidemic prevention.
In case of necessity, propose the need for diphtheria antitoxin serum to the Ministry of Health (Department of Planning and Finance) for allocation, management and use according to regulations. Mobilize human resources to support epidemic areas, send mobile anti-epidemic teams and mobile emergency teams to support localities in implementing epidemic prevention and control work.
Organize training courses for preventive medical staff and treatment staff on guidelines for disease surveillance, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, emergency care, patient care, infection control and organize inspection, supervision and direction teams at hotspots and areas at risk of outbreaks, supporting localities in disease prevention and control.
Information from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) of Bac Giang province said that this locality has just discovered a positive case of diphtheria, a type of infectious-toxic disease, transmitted through the respiratory tract and capable of causing an epidemic.
The case that just tested positive for diphtheria is MTB, 18 years old. Ms. B. is currently residing in Trung Tam village, Hop Thinh commune, Hiep Hoa district, Bac Giang province; her permanent address is in Pha Danh commune, Ky Son district, Nghe An province.
Previously, on July 6, CDC Bac Giang received information from CDC Nghe An about a death due to diphtheria in Ky Son district.
Through epidemiological investigation, Nghe An provincial authorities identified two cases in close contact with the patient, temporarily residing in Hop Thinh commune, Hiep Hoa district (Bac Giang). They are Ms. MTB and MTS, both 18 years old.
Immediately after receiving the notice, CDC Bac Giang coordinated with Hiep Hoa District Medical Center to monitor and investigate close contacts and take samples for testing.
Initial results show that from June 25-28, Ms. B. and Ms. S. returned to Nghe An to take their high school graduation exams and stayed in the same room as the deceased patient. On July 1, they both took a bus from Ky Son district (Nghe An) to Hiep Hoa district (Bac Giang).
On July 5, when they learned that their roommate had died of diphtheria and had a sore throat, Ms. B. and Ms. S. proactively went to the pharmacy to buy antibiotics.
After testing positive for diphtheria, Ms. B. was transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases (Hanoi) for treatment because Bac Giang province currently no longer has diphtheria antitoxin serum.
From the above case, the Bac Giang Department of Health requested relevant units to urgently handle the environment in high-risk areas; strengthen screening of close contacts of the case, and quarantine until the test results are negative twice (each sample is taken 24 hours apart and no more than 24 hours after antibiotic treatment).
Currently, Ms. S. and those who had close contact with patient B. have been placed in quarantine. At the request of the leaders of the Bac Giang Provincial Department of Health, these cases are being treated with antibiotics for 7 days and their health is being monitored for 14 days from the last contact with the confirmed case.
Functional units in Bac Giang are also required to be fully prepared to respond when a diphtheria epidemic occurs.
In addition, health stations across the province urgently review children of vaccination age who have not been vaccinated or have not received 3 doses of diphtheria - whooping cough - tetanus - hepatitis B - Hib and DPT4 vaccines to organize catch-up and catch-up vaccinations...
It is known that in recent years, in the Central Highlands, some northern mountainous provinces have had cases of the disease returning. Most of these localities are in remote areas, where vaccination rates have decreased or been interrupted, leading to an increase in the number of cases.
Recently, after nearly 20 years without a case, Ha Giang province recorded more than 30 cases of diphtheria, including one death. In addition, Thai Nguyen also recorded 2 cases of diphtheria. Previously, Dien Bien province recently recorded 3 cases of diphtheria, including 1 death.
In the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, diphtheria is classified as a group B infectious disease, which is a dangerous infectious disease that can spread rapidly and can cause death. In fact, even when treated, the mortality rate of the disease is up to 5-10%.
Diphtheria is an acute bacterial infection with pseudomembranous lesions in the tonsils, pharynx, larynx, and nose caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae. It was one of the leading causes of death in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The disease has an incubation period of about 2-5 days. During this time, the patient has no symptoms. The disease is easily transmitted directly from the patient to the healthy person through the respiratory tract or indirectly through contact with toys or objects contaminated with the patient's secretions.
With initial symptoms such as laryngitis, swollen lymph nodes under the jaw, sore throat, etc., the disease can progress to pneumonia, neuritis, heart failure, conjunctivitis, etc., causing death after 6-10 days. The mortality rate can be up to about 5-10% and up to 20% in children under 5 years old and adults over 40 years old when infected.
In Vietnam, before vaccination, diphtheria often occurred and caused epidemics in most localities, especially in areas with high population density. The disease appeared frequently in August, September, and October. After the vaccine was available, the incidence rate dropped to less than 0.01/100,000 people.
According to experts, the heart is the organ most susceptible to serious complications. About 30% of patients with severe diphtheria have complications such as myocarditis, arrhythmia, heart failure and death.
Next, diphtheria can cause neurological complications, which account for about 5% of all severe cases. The disease can damage both the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system.
People at high risk of death are often under 15 years old, over 40 years old, people with kidney and cardiovascular complications, people with poor health, immunodeficiency or patients with support devices in the body, for example, artificial heart valve replacement or ventricular shunt placement, intravenous catheter placement.
Currently, vaccines are a quick, economical and safe measure to prevent diphtheria. Mr. Tran Dac Phu, former Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, said that since the diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus vaccine was introduced into the Expanded Immunization Program in 1981, the number of diphtheria cases in our country has decreased sharply.
In recent years, the disease has returned with sporadic cases in central provinces such as Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, the Central Highlands provinces, and recently the northern mountainous provinces. Through epidemiological investigations, these are all areas with low vaccination rates.
Diphtheria vaccine is included in all combination vaccines 2 in 1; 3 in 1; 4 in 1; 5 in 1; 6 in 1. The 6 in 1 and 5 in 1 vaccines can be given to children from 6 weeks to 2 years old. The 4 in 1 vaccine can be given to children from 2 months to under 7 years old.
The 3-in-1 vaccine can be given to children from 4 years of age and adults. In addition, the 2-in-1 vaccine against diphtheria and tetanus can be given to children from 7 years of age and adults.
Source: https://baodautu.vn/bo-y-te-chi-dao-ngan-dich-bach-hau-bung-phat-d219537.html
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