Adults should not be subjective when they have measles.

NDO - Recently, the number of measles cases has tended to increase in many provinces and cities, especially in densely populated areas. The Tropical Disease Center - Bach Mai Hospital is treating many measles cases.

Many of us think that measles is mainly a disease of children and has been controlled by vaccines, but in fact adults also get measles and can experience complications that greatly affect their health.

Male patient NVA (38 years old), previously healthy, living in Thanh Hoa City, had a fever for 5 consecutive days, accompanied by a sore throat and upper respiratory tract infection. After 3 days, the patient developed a rash, initially on the back of the head spreading all over the body with itching and discomfort. In the following days, he had abdominal pain and loose stools 4-5 times a day.

After being admitted to the provincial hospital and diagnosed with rash fever, treatment did not help, the patient coughed a lot and was transferred to Bach Mai Hospital.

At the Tropical Disease Center, after examination, doctors discovered that the patient had a rash syndrome suspected of measles, accompanied by upper respiratory tract inflammation syndrome, and a throat examination found Koplik spots, which are white spots on the mucosa of the right cheek, plus signs of red eyes and swollen eyelids. The patient was tested and confirmed to be infected with the measles virus. After 5 days of intensive treatment here, the patient recovered and was discharged without complications.

Female patient THB (37 years old, in Nam Dinh), had a fever at home for 3 days with a red rash starting from the face, neck and spreading to the whole body, accompanied by a sore throat, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and difficulty breathing. At Nam Dinh Hospital, she was diagnosed with rash fever/leukopenia, increased liver enzymes, and pneumonia. After antibiotic treatment, which did not improve, she was transferred to Bach Mai Hospital. Here, after testing, the patient was diagnosed with measles with pneumonia complications. Currently, after 3 days of treatment, the patient is out of danger.

VTT (21 years old) is a student in Dong Da, Hanoi. Three days before being admitted to the hospital, the patient had a fever, accompanied by a rash that first appeared on the face and back of the neck, then spread to the whole body, accompanied by a cough, watery eyes, and runny nose. The patient went to the doctor and was diagnosed with an allergy, after testing positive for measles, he was transferred to the Center for Tropical Diseases.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Do Duy Cuong, Director of the Center for Tropical Diseases, Bach Mai Hospital, measles is an acute and dangerous infectious disease transmitted through the respiratory tract caused by a virus of the Paramyxoviridae family.

Recently, the weather in the North has changed seasons, so the Center has received many adult patients with measles. The measles virus is easily transmitted through the air or droplets, and the susceptible subjects are children who have not been vaccinated or adults when the amount of antibodies in the blood has decreased.

Measles in adults and children can cause dangerous complications such as encephalitis, pneumonia, conjunctivitis, keratitis, secondary infections causing otitis media, enteritis and other infections that greatly affect health and even endanger life.

Many adults subjectively believe that measles only occurs in children, so they do not go to the doctor and get treatment. For pregnant women, measles also has a negative impact on the mother's health and affects the fetus, especially in the first 3 months of pregnancy.

Recently, Ho Chi Minh City announced a measles epidemic in August 2024 and in previous years, there were many measles cases in the community in some localities. The Ministry of Health has issued guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of measles. Medical staff need to pay attention to the characteristics of measles to test for diagnosis and timely isolation and treatment, avoid missing and late detection, thereby increasing the risk of spreading in the community.

Measles, like some other infectious diseases such as diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus ... can be safely prevented by vaccination. The current measles vaccine for adults is the 3-in-1 MMR vaccine (measles-mumps-rubella) which will help us prevent the disease and prevent complications. In addition, it is necessary to maintain environmental hygiene and personal hygiene, improve health to increase resistance and wear a mask when in contact with sick people.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/nguoi-lon-khong-chu-quan-khi-mac-benh-soi-post850905.html