Medical news August 13: Ministry of Health directs diphtheria prevention and control
Faced with the complicated developments of the diphtheria epidemic in Thanh Hoa, the Ministry of Health has just issued a document requesting the province to strengthen epidemic prevention measures to avoid the spread of the epidemic.
Prevent the spread of diphtheria
The Ministry of Health requested the Director of the Thanh Hoa Provincial Department of Health to continue directing local medical units to strengthen screening of cases in close contact with diphtheria cases; monitor and promptly detect suspected cases in outbreaks and in the community; collect samples and test to identify cases and promptly implement medical isolation measures, handle outbreaks and provide prophylactic antibiotics for all close contacts according to the Ministry of Health's instructions.
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| Vaccination is the most important measure to prevent diphtheria. Photo: Chi Cuong |
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.
At the same time, 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 vaccinations, catch-up vaccinations, 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.
The Ministry also requested the Thanh Hoa Department of Health to review and ensure logistics for vaccines, preventive antibiotics, antitoxin serum, chemicals, etc. to implement epidemic prevention and control activities; report to the Provincial People's Committee to arrange funding and mobilize resources to support logistics for epidemic prevention and control.
If necessary, mobilize human resources, send mobile anti-epidemic teams and mobile emergency teams to support localities in implementing epidemic prevention and control work.
Organize training courses for preventive health workers and treatment workers on guidelines for disease surveillance, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, emergency care, patient care, infection control, and organize inspection, supervision and direction teams in areas at risk of disease spread.
Emergency treatment for 4 patients infected with "flesh-eating bacteria"
Bai Chay Hospital (Quang Ninh) is treating 4 cases of Whitmore's disease (also known as flesh-eating bacteria) that damages multiple organs, weakens the immune system, such as sepsis, liver abscess, leg abscess, and meningitis.
Hospitalized in very serious condition was Mrs. VT H (67 years old, residing in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh) with a history of multiple myeloma and hypertension, transferred from a higher level hospital to Bai Chay Hospital for treatment with a diagnosis of sepsis, meningitis caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei (whitmore) bacteria, with migratory focus of pneumonia.
Another case is patient Đ.TD (62 years old, residing in Uong Bi City, Quang Ninh Province) with a history of diabetes who was hospitalized with fever, chills, body aches, pain, swelling and pain in the soft tissue of the left leg with pus, and clear signs of infection. The pus culture test was positive for Burkhoderia pseudomallei bacteria that cause whitmore disease.
Doctors diagnosed sepsis and a leg abscess caused by Whitmore bacteria in a diabetic patient and treated him with antibiotics and drained the abscess in the leg.
According to doctors, the cause of whitmore disease is the bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei. This bacteria usually lives in mud, especially in moist areas, contaminated water and enters the human body mainly through the skin when there is an open wound that comes into direct contact with contaminated soil and water.
Dr. Pham Cong Duc, Head of the Department of Tropical Diseases, Bai Chay Hospital, said that the disease damages many organs and progresses silently and slowly, when the patient is admitted to the hospital, there are already very deep abscesses. The mortality rate is relatively high if not treated promptly. People with underlying diseases such as diabetes, kidney failure, liver disease, chronic lung disease, and immunodeficiency are at high risk of contracting the disease.
The incubation period is 1-21 days, which can be long and difficult to diagnose. Burkholderia pseudomallei infection can be a latent infection and reactivation similar to tuberculosis. There is currently no vaccine and the disease is not transmitted from person to person.
Therefore, according to doctors' recommendations, the main preventive measures are to ensure personal hygiene, environmental hygiene, use protective gear when working in contact with contaminated soil or water or in unsanitary environments, completely clean skin lacerations, scratches or contaminated burns, and eat cooked food and drink boiled water...
Especially when the patient has skin ulcers, symptoms such as fever, aching limbs, cough, abdominal pain, frequent diarrhea, they need to go to a medical facility immediately for timely examination and diagnosis.
Nutritional advice for patients with acute pancreatitis
Acute pancreatitis is an acute inflammation of the pancreas, often with sudden onset, acute progression and the risk of death if not promptly treated. One of the ways to help improve the condition is to design a reasonable diet for patients with acute pancreatitis.
In Vietnam, the causes of acute pancreatitis are often gallstones, alcohol and dyslipidemia, of which alcohol is very common, especially in men. Other possible causes include pancreatic cancer, parasitic infections such as worms, flukes, autoimmune diseases (autoimmune pancreatitis, pancreatitis due to IgG4).
Acute pancreatitis has many different symptoms, depending on the cause and severity, but the most common symptoms are: Abdominal pain above the navel, pain radiating to the back, rapid pulse, nausea/vomiting, feeling of fullness in the abdomen.
When a patient has symptoms that point to acute pancreatitis, doctors may order blood tests, abdominal ultrasound, and abdominal CT scans. Blood tests may show pancreatic enzymes such as Amylase and Lipase to be very high; there may be images of an enlarged pancreas with edema or pancreatic necrosis, and fluid around the pancreas on CT scans.
Depending on the condition of the disease, clinical progression, nature and severity of pancreatitis, the doctor can prescribe a treatment regimen appropriate for each patient such as intravenous fluids, pain relief, and in severe cases of pancreatitis, plasmapheresis and emergency stone removal intervention.
According to doctors at the 108 Central Military Hospital, pancreatitis is a digestive organ responsible for digesting food. When the pancreas is inflamed, the digestive function of the pancreas is also affected.
Furthermore, the pancreas is an organ located close to the duodenum, a loop of intestine on the path of food from the stomach to the small intestine. When there is acute pancreatitis, the duodenum is often edematous, leading to narrowing of the path of food.
Therefore, in the early stages of the disease, patients need to eat soft, easily digestible foods such as soup, porridge, milk, and these foods need to contain adequate nutrients.
Some foods for people with acute pancreatitis, such as white porridge, are often prescribed by doctors for patients who have just started eating again to test whether the digestive system has truly recovered.
Nut milk: such as soy milk, low-fat cereal milk, these are easily digestible foods, very suitable for the acute stage.
Hydrolyzed peptides help increase absorption and provide adequate nutrients.
Some foods with more nutrients such as minced meat porridge, fish porridge, animal milk will be prescribed when the patient recovers digestive function. Usually, the patient will be supplemented with medicine containing pancreatic enzymes to help increase the ability to digest and absorb nutrients.
Patients should note that the time of eating is also a factor that should be paid attention to. Some studies show that eating early 24-48 hours after hospitalization, when the patient has signs of bowel movements, will help increase the recovery rate and reduce the patient's hospital stay.
Nutritional regimen for patients after discharge from the hospital: After being injured, the pancreas will need time to recover. During this time, patients should eat foods that are easy to digest and rich in vitamins. At the same time, they should pay attention to regular exercise to recover from the disease.
Some foods are easy to digest, such as simply prepared vegetables like boiled vegetables.
Fruits; White meats such as chicken, fresh fish… Nut milks such as soy, almond… Some foods to avoid are red meats; seafood rich in protein; fried foods with lots of oil.
In particular, people with acute pancreatitis need to absolutely avoid alcohol, because this is one of the factors leading to recurrent acute pancreatitis.
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