Is the chickenpox outbreak a cause for concern?
Faced with the rapidly increasing situation of chickenpox, covering many provinces, cities and districts, the common concern of the whole society at this time is: is the disease worth worrying about or not?
What measures can be taken to protect yourself and your family, especially children, pregnant women, and people with weak immune systems? How to properly care for and treat, avoiding possible complications…
Journalist Le Bao Trung - Head of Science and Education Department presented flowers to guests at the talk show.
Online talk show "Is the outbreak of chickenpox a cause for concern?", conducted by Thu Cuc TCI Healthcare System in collaboration with Dan Tri electronic newspaper, at 2:00 p.m. on March 29, with the participation of 2 doctors from Thu Cuc TCI Healthcare System:
Master, Doctor Dang Thi Kim Hanh (Photo: Huu Nghi).
- Master, Doctor Dang Thi Kim Hanh - Head of Vaccination Unit, Thu Cuc TCI Healthcare System. The doctor was formerly Deputy Head of the Department of Epidemiology - Hanoi Center for Preventive Medicine, has many years of experience in epidemic prevention and vaccination. In addition to her role as a doctor, Dr. Dang Thi Kim Hanh is currently also in charge of vaccination - Lecturer of Epidemiology Department, University of Public Health.
Specialist Doctor I Nguyen Van Nho (Photo: Huu Nghi).
- Doctor Nguyen Van Nho - Pediatrics Department, Thu Cuc TCI Healthcare System. The doctor has more than 30 years of experience working at the Pediatrics Department - Xanh Pon General Hospital. With many years of experience in the field of Pediatrics and a love for children, Doctor Nho has helped thousands of children escape illness and live happily and healthily.
Online discussion "Is the chickenpox outbreak a cause for concern?" took place on the afternoon of March 29.
Interested readers are invited to ask questions to the guests in the exchange here:
Chickenpox in season: incidence rate 140 times higher than 2022
In the past three consecutive weeks, the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (Ha Noi CDC) said that more than 100 children with chickenpox were recorded each week, 140 times more than the same period last year.
Accumulated from the beginning of 2023 until now, Hanoi alone has had more than 550 cases of chickenpox. The number of people infected with the disease has been recorded in nearly 30 districts in the city, led by Chuong My district with 230 cases, Me Linh with 69 cases, Ba Vi with 60 cases, Nam Tu Liem with 56 cases, My Duc with 42 cases...
Notably, the number of cases recorded is quite high in primary school age (38%) and preschool age (36.5%) and this number is showing signs of increasing in the coming time.
Dr. Nguyen Van Nho - Pediatrics Department, Thu Cuc TCI Healthcare System said that chickenpox is an acute infectious disease caused by a virus called Varicella Zoster. The disease can occur at any time of the year, but from March to May is the peak of the disease due to erratic weather changes, high humidity in the air... creating favorable conditions for this virus to develop strongly.
Varicella Zoster virus causes chickenpox through penetration into the upper respiratory tract mucosa of humans. This virus can survive in the natural environment for a certain period of time and on many different objects and materials. That is also the reason why chickenpox has a high ability to spread from one person to another through direct or indirect contact. This is also the disease with the most terrible ability to spread among current infectious diseases.
Subjective with chickenpox - Beware of complications
Chickenpox is a health problem that the whole world is concerned about because of the large scale of the disease, the high possibility of an outbreak, causing many serious consequences for the community. Although it is a benign disease, if not detected early and treated promptly, chickenpox can cause many dangerous and unpredictable complications.
Chickenpox blisters can cause "secondary infection" dermatitis or the risk of shingles, leaving scars on the skin later, making the patient feel self-conscious in life. More seriously, chickenpox can also be the "source" leading to a number of dangerous diseases such as otitis media, laryngotracheobronchitis, pneumonia, encephalitis, mental disorders, convulsions... if the patient is not detected early.
On the other hand, chickenpox will also greatly affect the overall physical and intellectual development of children. In particular, although not at high risk of contracting the disease, adults are more likely to experience more severe complications than children.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that chickenpox is transmitted mainly through the respiratory tract, so the ability to control and prevent it is very limited, especially for those who have not been vaccinated.
Currently, vaccination is the simplest and most effective way to prevent disease for yourself and the community. However, according to Dr. Kim Hanh, Thu Cuc TCI, the chickenpox vaccine is part of the expanded immunization program, but there are still many children and adults who have not been vaccinated, and that is the reason why the disease is spreading.
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