Since October 14, nearly 23,000 children aged 1-5 in Hanoi have been vaccinated against measles.
Measles outbreak is on the rise
Recently, the number of measles cases in Hanoi has tended to increase. In the past week alone (from October 11 to October 18), the city had 6 more cases, of which 5 cases were not vaccinated and 1 case was vaccinated against measles.
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| Measles outbreaks are increasing in some localities. |
Thus, since the beginning of the year, Hanoi has recorded 29 cases of measles, while there were no cases recorded in 2023. Mr. Dao Huu Than, Head of the Department of Infectious Disease Prevention (CDC Hanoi), said that the measles epidemic is on the rise.
It is forecasted that from now until the end of the year and early next year, measles cases may continue to be recorded in the area. Weather conditions or cases of incomplete vaccination will be the conditions causing an increase in measles cases.
In addition to Hanoi, the measles epidemic is also complicated in localities such as Dak Lak, Can Tho, Khanh Hoa, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh... For example, according to a report from the Thanh Hoa Health Department, the number of measles cases has tended to increase sharply from mid-September until now.
In the first week of October 2024 alone, Thanh Hoa province recorded community outbreaks in many places. Measles cases were mainly in children aged 1-5 years and under 9 months. Notably, most of the cases were children who had not been vaccinated or had an unknown vaccination history with measles-containing vaccines.
Meanwhile, since the beginning of the year, Ho Chi Minh City has recorded 4 cases of children dying from measles. The health sector is trying to implement control measures, but the epidemic continues to increase rapidly, with no end in sight in the southern provinces.
According to the Ministry of Health, the number of measles cases this year has increased sharply. As of last September, the number of measles cases had increased 8 times compared to 2023.
Dr. Hoang Minh Duc, Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health) said that since 2023, the World Health Organization has warned about the risk of measles outbreaks, including in Vietnam.
Measles is highly contagious, and the risk of a measles outbreak in schools is high. Vaccination is currently an effective measure to prevent the disease. The transmission of measles can only be stopped when the community immunity rate reaches over 95%.
Accelerating vaccination
Faced with the risk of measles spreading and breaking out, localities are quickly implementing vaccination to ensure community immunity and prevent diseases for children according to the Ministry of Health's measles vaccination campaign plan.
On October 21, according to the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (CDC), after one week of implementing the measles vaccination campaign (from October 14 to present), 29/30 districts, towns and cities have organized vaccinations; including 470 vaccination points at health stations and 22 vaccination points at schools.
Cumulatively from October 14 to now, the city has vaccinated 23,296 subjects, including 22,777 children aged 1-5 and 519 high-risk health workers. Specifically, 21,247 children were vaccinated at health stations, 1,530 children were vaccinated at school vaccination sites.
Previously, from October 14, Hanoi began implementing a measles vaccination campaign and organized catch-up vaccinations for cases of delayed vaccination until November 15, 2024.
Through statistical review, the whole city is expected to have about 70,000 cases of vaccination, including children aged 1-5 years old living in Hanoi and medical staff at risk at medical examination and treatment facilities, treating measles patients in the area who have not received enough doses of vaccination according to regulations.
The campaign's goal is that over 95% of children aged 1-5 living and studying in Hanoi who have not received enough doses of measles-containing vaccines as prescribed will receive one dose of measles-rubella (MR) vaccine.
In addition, over 95% of health care workers at risk in medical examination and treatment facilities treating measles patients who have not received enough doses of measles vaccine are given one dose of measles-rubella (MR) vaccine.
In Ho Chi Minh City, according to data from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, as of October 19, the total number of measles vaccinations administered in the city reached 221,873.
Of which, children aged 1-5 years old have received 46,783 injections (100%), and children aged 6-10 years old have received 147,613 injections (100%). However, there are currently 2 districts with measles vaccination rates below 95%, including Can Gio (94.04%) and District 3 (84.71%).
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health requested the People's Committees of districts that have not yet achieved the vaccination coverage rate to speed up the progress to achieve the campaign goals in the districts.
For districts that have achieved a rate of 95% or higher, it is necessary to maintain updates on the situation of mobile children to avoid missing unvaccinated children in the area.
Thus, up to now, the measles vaccination progress for children aged 1-10 years has been 100% completed as planned. However, the number of measles cases in children aged 1-5 years has not decreased much while the number of cases in the 11-17 age group is increasing very rapidly. The number of measles cases over 18 years old also shows signs of increasing and a measles outbreak in adults in the factory has been recorded.
According to the Department of Preventive Medicine, measles is a group B infectious disease caused by the measles virus. The disease is common in children under 5 years old or can also occur in adults, due to not being vaccinated against measles or not being vaccinated enough.
Measles has no specific treatment and is easily spread through the respiratory tract through droplets of an infected person or through direct contact, through hands contaminated with the patient's secretions.
Crowded places such as public places, schools, etc. have a very high risk of spreading measles. Measles outbreaks usually occur in cycles of 3-5 years.
Vaccination is an effective measure to prevent disease. The transmission of disease can only be stopped when the immunity rate in the community reaches >95%.
Therefore, to prevent measles, the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health recommends that people proactively take children from 9 months to 2 years old who have not been vaccinated or have not received 2 doses of measles vaccine to get fully vaccinated on schedule.
Do not let children come near or come into contact with children suspected of having measles; Wash hands frequently with soap when caring for children.
Keep your child's body, nose, throat, eyes and mouth clean every day. Make sure your house and toilet are clean and well-ventilated. Improve your child's nutrition.
Nursery schools, kindergartens, and schools where children gather must be kept clean and airy; toys, learning tools, and classrooms must be regularly disinfected with common disinfectants.
When detecting signs of fever, cough, runny nose, rash, it is necessary to isolate the child early and take him/her to the nearest medical facility for examination and timely treatment advice. Do not take the child for unnecessary treatment to avoid hospital overload and cross-infection in the hospital.
According to medical experts, measles is one of the leading causes of death in children under 5 years old, and can cause large outbreaks due to its ability to spread strongly through the respiratory tract. On average, 1 person with measles can infect about 12-18 healthy people, or people who have not been vaccinated.
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