Many children have measles and whooping cough, the Ministry of Health recommends vaccination to prevent the disease

Bệnh nhi tiêm chủng vắc xin tại Bệnh viện Đa khoa Hà Đông (Hà Nội) - Ảnh: BVCC — Children receive vaccination at Ha Dong General Hospital (Hanoi) - Photo: BVCC

On March 20, the Department of Preventive Medicine (Ministry of Health) issued a document requesting localities to strengthen prevention of whooping cough and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

The Department assesses that currently, in the Northern region, the weather is cold, windy, and rainy, creating favorable conditions for pathogens to develop, spread, and increase the risk of infectious diseases, especially diseases transmitted through the respiratory tract.

In addition, the recent interruption in the supply of vaccines under the Expanded Immunization Program has affected the vaccination rate nationwide. Many children are not vaccinated on schedule or have not received enough doses of vaccines, which is a risk factor for increasing epidemics.

Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) also issued a warning about the increasing number of measles cases and the risk of measles outbreaks in many areas around the world.

According to WHO data, in the European region, the number of people infected in 2023 was more than 300,000 cases, an increase of more than 30 times compared to 2022. In the Western Pacific region, the number of measles cases increased by 255% from 2022 to 2023.

In Vietnam, according to the report of the infectious disease reporting system, since the beginning of the year, there have been 42 sporadic cases of measles and suspected measles rash fever recorded in 13 provinces and cities, with no concentrated outbreaks recorded.

To minimize the risk of disease outbreaks in the coming time, the Ministry of Health recommends that relevant units strengthen monitoring and early detection of cases of measles, whooping cough, etc. in the community and medical examination and treatment facilities; and implement measures to thoroughly handle outbreaks as soon as cases are detected.

In particular, localities carry out regular monthly vaccinations for subjects under the expanded immunization program, including measles vaccination for 9-month-old children and measles-rubella vaccination for 18-month-old children; and whooping cough vaccination for children and pregnant women.

Organize screening, catch-up vaccinations, and catch-up vaccinations for children who have not been vaccinated against diseases.

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