Hanoi records first case of Japanese encephalitis in 2023

Specifically, on September 19, the boy showed symptoms such as high fever, headache, fatigue, etc. On September 25, the boy was admitted to the National Children's Hospital for inpatient treatment. Here, the patient was tested and the result was positive for Japanese encephalitis virus. Previously, the patient had received 3 basic injections of Japanese encephalitis vaccine.

Japanese encephalitis is a dangerous infectious disease transmitted by mosquito bites. The disease often causes encephalitis and meningitis in children, with a high mortality rate and sequelae (from 25-35%). Doctors also believe that the reason children get sick is because parents often forget to schedule a booster shot of Japanese encephalitis vaccine for their children after completing the basic shots at age 2.

Japanese encephalitis virus usually attacks young children (under 15 years old). Patients may experience early complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia. On the other hand, early sequelae that can occur in this disease are paralysis or hemiplegia, loss of language, motor coordination disorders, severe memory loss, mental disorders, etc. Late sequelae that can occur are epilepsy, hearing loss or deafness, mental disorders, etc.

According to medical experts, it is noteworthy that Japanese encephalitis is often difficult to detect early because the initial symptoms are very similar to other infections, the progression of the disease is very fast, even after only 1 day the patient has symptoms of convulsions and falls into a coma. Death from Japanese encephalitis often occurs within the first 7 days when the patient has deep coma, convulsions and symptoms of brain damage. Patients who survive may be left with severe sequelae, commonly mental disorders, movement disorders, reduced communication ability, etc.

Therefore, doctors recommend that when children have symptoms of fever, sleep a lot, headache, and dry heaving, immediately think of encephalitis and take the child to see a doctor. In case the child shows severe symptoms, it will cause many complications and make the treatment process very difficult.

To proactively prevent and combat Japanese encephalitis, the Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health) recommends that people take preventive measures such as getting vaccinated against Japanese encephalitis fully and on schedule; building livestock pens away from the house, eliminating mosquito larvae and destroying mosquitoes; practicing good environmental hygiene, keeping houses and livestock pens clean so that mosquitoes have no place to nest. In addition, when there are signs of high fever along with symptoms of damage to the central nervous system, the patient must be taken immediately to a medical facility for timely diagnosis and treatment.

Le Trang

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