Mr. Ha Anh Duc, Chief of the Ministry of Health's Office, informed at the Ministry of Health's regular press conference (afternoon of December 15) that recently, the Infectious Disease Surveillance System recorded information on an increase in cases of respiratory diseases and cases of influenza A(H5/N1), COVID-19 in a number of countries in the region.
In China, on November 13, 2023, an increase in the number of respiratory diseases was reported; at the same time, a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown cause in children occurred in some northern provinces of China.
Vaccines are still one of the effective measures to prevent COVID-19 (photo TL).
On November 26, 2023, the National Health Commission of China held a press conference and determined that the main reason was that it was currently winter, the weather was cold and changing abnormally.
In Malaysia and Singapore, the number of COVID-19 cases recorded increased by 50-100% per week. In Singapore, the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 increased by about 65% in the week from November 26 to December 2, 2023. Health authorities in these countries believe that the reason for the resurgence in COVID-19 cases is due to the decline in people's immunity and increased trade during the year-end tourist and festival season.
In Cambodia, on November 23 and 24, 2023, 2 more cases of A/H5N1 influenza in humans were recorded; in 2023, Cambodia recorded 6 human cases, including 3 deaths.
According to Mr. Ha Anh Duc, currently in the winter-spring period, the unusual change in weather is the cause of the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, especially respiratory diseases such as flu, measles, rubella, whooping cough..., posing a potential risk of infectious disease outbreaks.
This is also the time when the demand for trade and tourism at the end of the year increases, creating favorable conditions for pathogens to spread, which can increase the number of infectious diseases and respiratory diseases, especially in high-risk groups such as children with weak resistance and the elderly with underlying medical conditions.
To prevent and combat respiratory diseases, people need to continue to proactively implement personal disease prevention measures such as wearing masks at medical facilities, on public transport and in crowded places;
Wash your hands frequently with clean water, soap or hand sanitizer; gargle with mouthwash; avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth; cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing;
Practice good environmental hygiene, personal hygiene, keep your body warm, exercise, play sports, and improve your physical condition;
Practice cooking food and drinking boiled water; ensure food safety in slaughtering livestock and poultry and processing livestock and poultry products;
Avoid contact with people with respiratory symptoms such as cough, fever, difficulty breathing... and when there are signs of illness, go immediately to the nearest medical facility for timely consultation, examination and treatment.
“Regarding COVID-19 prevention and control, in Vietnam, the COVID-19 situation is still under control; the number of recorded cases is low, scattered in some localities and most have mild symptoms or no symptoms; the number of hospitalizations and the number of severe patients in treatment facilities is low.
"The results of monitoring the pathogen have not yet recorded any new or unusual variants," said Mr. Ha Anh Duc.
To continue to effectively and sustainably control COVID-19 and be prepared and proactive in responding in case COVID-19 returns, according to Mr. Ha Anh Duc, the Ministry of Health has issued a Plan for sustainable control and management of the COVID-19 epidemic for the 2023-2025 period according to Decision No. 3984/QD-BYT dated October 29, 2023, including a plan to ensure medical work in the event that the COVID-19 epidemic has a new, more dangerous strain, breaking out strongly on a large scale, exceeding the capacity of the system.
Regarding highly pathogenic avian influenza (A/H5N1), in 2023, Vietnam has not recorded any cases in humans; however, according to information from the Department of Animal Health - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, A/H5N1 influenza in poultry still occurs sporadically in localities.
The current unusual seasonal weather is a favorable condition for the development of avian influenza viruses; at the same time, there is also a trend of increasing poultry farming in preparation for the 2024 Lunar New Year, which poses a potential risk of avian influenza transmission to humans.
To proactively prevent avian influenza from entering and infecting humans, the Ministry of Health issued Document No. 7910/BYT-DP dated December 8, 2023 requesting localities to strengthen the prevention and control of avian influenza from spreading to humans.
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