According to the measles outbreak cycle every 5 years, many people are concerned that the epidemic will break out strongly if the vaccination coverage rate is low.
More than 90% of measles cases have not been vaccinated
Hospitalized due to high fever, rash, cough, and difficulty breathing, NTL (2 years old, Hanoi) was diagnosed with measles with complications of pneumonia and respiratory failure. After 5 days of intensive treatment, L's condition stabilized. At the Tropical Disease Center, the National Children's Hospital, many children with measles complications were treated, many of whom had not been vaccinated against the disease.
According to Dr. Cao Viet Tung, Deputy Director of the National Children's Hospital, on average from 2024 to March 13, 2025, the hospital received 3,107 measles cases, of which more than 50% had to be hospitalized. If in 2024 the hospital recorded 796 hospitalizations, in the first 3 months of 2025 there were 1,367 cases. Notably, the rate of children with measles who had not been vaccinated was quite high. Through an investigation of 1,459 patients over 9 months old with measles who were hospitalized, 50% of the children had not been vaccinated against the disease.
“Normally, the hospital treats 70-80 patients. The number of hospitalized patients accounts for about 77%, of the total number of cases being treated, 91% of the cases are discharged. Regarding the number of deaths due to measles from 2024 to March 13, 2025, there were 10 patients, accounting for 1% of the total number of hospitalized patients,” said Dr. Cao Viet Tung.
Thanh Nhan Hospital has also recorded many measles cases since the beginning of the year. Most of the cases have not been vaccinated, many children have complications from measles. Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that in the first 3 months of the year, the country recorded about 40,000 suspected measles cases in 63 provinces and cities, including 3,447 positive cases of measles in 61 provinces and cities; 5 deaths related to measles in Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc; the number of cases increased compared to the same period in 2024 (111 cases). The number of suspected measles cases recorded was highest in the Southern region (57%), Central region (19.2%), Northern region (15.1%), Central Highlands (8.7%).
Of the measles cases, 90.8% were unvaccinated, 4.9% had unknown vaccination history, and 4.3% had been vaccinated. According to the Department of Disease Prevention (Ministry of Health), the measles situation in the South is still showing signs of increasing. According to statistics from southern hospitals, 90% of children with measles have not been vaccinated.
A suspected measles-related death was recently recorded in Cao Bang. According to the Cao Bang Provincial Center for Disease Control, a child born in 2023 (Mong ethnic group, residing in Bao Lac district) came to the Pac Nam District Medical Center (Bac Kan province) for examination and treatment and died on March 10, suspected to be related to measles. The cause of death was determined to be late arrival at the hospital, complications of severe pneumonia, acute respiratory failure and severe dehydration.
Statistics from the Cao Bang Provincial Department of Health show that in recent times, the locality has recorded more than 2,500 suspected cases of measles. The suspected cases of measles are mainly children who have not been vaccinated against measles or have only received one dose of vaccine containing measles, and a small number of children are not yet old enough to be vaccinated.
Hospitals must be vigilant
According to Mr. Hoang Minh Duc, Director of the Department of Disease Prevention, measles is a specific disease, spreading faster than COVID-19. On average, 1 infected person infects 12-18 people, cross-infection in medical facilities and to other provinces is very high. Preventing cross-infection in hospitals is also a challenge for medical facilities if patients are not separated from the moment they arrive for examination, taken to separate entrances and examination rooms.
For example, the National Children's Hospital has more than 2,000 inpatient beds, but the number of patients is very large, especially the standard isolation rooms are limited. Inpatients are often seriously ill, have many underlying diseases, and are at high risk of contracting measles if they encounter a source of infection. According to Dr. Cao Viet Tung, triage is difficult because there are many patients from the clinic to the treatment unit. Meanwhile, the current clinical manifestations of measles are atypical, difficult to identify, and difficult to control communication between patients and their families. In addition, there is a lack of uniformity in views and methods of case management and measles exposure management between hospitals.
At the National Children's Hospital, normally, when a child comes to the clinic who is in a measles epidemic area or has been in contact with a measles patient and has symptoms such as fever, rash, or conjunctivitis, the doctors and nurses will immediately conduct an initial triage of the patient to take the patient to an environment with separate entrances and examination rooms. When the child is at a severe level with complications requiring hospitalization, he or she will be taken to a separate ward area and have certain standards for measles treatment.
Regarding the triage of measles patients, according to the Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management (Ministry of Health) Ha Anh Duc, the Department has issued a document requesting medical facilities to organize the triage of patients right from the time they register for medical examination. Arrange a separate examination area for measles patients or suspected measles patients. Facilities must strictly comply and be vigilant with the unpredictable developments of the measles epidemic in order to avoid cross-infection in hospitals.
According to the Ministry of Health, although the number of measles cases has decreased, it has not stopped, so we must not be subjective and be extremely cautious. In addition to strengthening the prevention and control of cross-infection, vaccine coverage to create community immunity is the most important. Dr. Hoang Minh Duc said that in the past, there was still a situation where people did not take their children to get vaccinated when they reached the right age; after COVID-19, some people thought that being vaccinated or not vaccinated was the same; the ability to access vaccines in remote areas was low... leading to low vaccination rates. Vaccination according to the campaign is a source of local budget, but many localities are afraid of buying at different prices than other provinces, leading to delays in bidding for vaccines... leading to rapid spread of measles. The main source of vaccines is from the Ministry of Health asking for aid and international support. Statistics show that up to this point, about 7-8 provinces have just approved the vaccination plan according to the expanded target group and have only given catch-up vaccinations.
“Low- and medium-risk provinces have cross-infection. Due to the high rate of measles transmission, in the current context, these provinces are at high risk. According to calculations, if there is a vaccine, it will be given to both low- and medium-risk provinces. Only vaccination coverage of over 95% can prevent the spread and reduce measles outbreaks in the community,” said Dr. Hoang Minh Duc.
To complete the measles vaccination campaign before March 31 according to the Prime Minister's telegram, it is thought that localities that have vaccines and approved plans need to speed up the vaccination progress, not to delay, prolong and miss out on subjects.
Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/lay-nhiem-cheo-soi-rat-cao-phai-tao-duoc-mien-dich-cong-dong-i762307/
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