Measles in Nghe An is complicated
(Baonghean) - In the first month of 2019, Nghe An had 250 children with measles.
Vinh City is the "center" of measles
On the morning of January 30, the emergency room of the Tropical Diseases Department, Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital had a total of 5 children being treated for measles. Among them, 1 child came from Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh province and 4 children came from Vinh city...
It is worth mentioning that all 4 children in Vinh city had not been vaccinated against measles before contracting the disease. One child contracted the disease through cross-infection while going to a medical facility in the area, and another child contracted the disease from a friend at a private kindergarten, then returned home and infected his younger sibling.
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| Doctor CKII Nguyen Xuan Hong - Deputy Director of the Department of Health inspects patient treatment at the Tropical Diseases Department. Photo: Son Thanh |
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| Isolation area for treating children with measles. Photo: Thanh Son |
Up to this point, most children with measles have been treated well by Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, with no deaths, but there are a few very serious cases that have had to be transferred to the National Children's Hospital. According to doctors: Although the number of patients has decreased in the last days of this year, the medical sector and the hospital cannot be optimistic. Because at this time, the weather is complicated, favorable for the virus to develop; children move with their parents to their hometowns for Tet; during Tet, many families are afraid to take their children to the hospital, creating conditions for measles to spread in the community... This Tet, not only in Vinh city but also in many localities in the province, measles may "emerge" throughout the province.
Difficult to prevent measles spread
Dr. Phan Van Tu - Director of Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital said: “We must recognize that the measles situation in Nghe An is no longer a sporadic case but an epidemic. According to the hospital's statistics, measles is on the rise. To effectively prevent and control measles as well as avoid cross-infection in the hospital, since July 2018, the hospital has established a measles control steering committee headed by a Deputy Director; since October 2018, the Department of Tropical Diseases has focused on treating measles. The hospital has arranged for the department 01 X-ray machine, 01 ultrasound machine, so that children with measles do not have to move out of the area. When children come for examination and show signs of measles, they are immediately transferred to the Department of Tropical Diseases for examination and treatment.”
Dr. Phan Van Tu also admitted: “Although many active isolation and triage measures have been implemented, it is still difficult to ensure that there is no cross-infection. Some children, when initially admitted to the hospital, are treated for respiratory problems, but a few days later they develop digestive problems, and a few days later measles appears. And despite propaganda in many ways such as direct instructions and signs, many family members of measles patients, when they come to take care of and visit them, are unconscious and do not use medical masks. Many children, after being cured, are advised to continue to be isolated at home for 3-5 weeks, but many parents still send their children to school.”
According to Dr. Nguyen Van Dinh - Director of the Center for Preventive Medicine of Nghe An province: The Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health has warned that 2018 is the year of cyclical measles outbreaks. Since May 2018, Vietnam has launched a nationwide measles vaccination campaign. Nghe An has promoted free vaccination in 17 high-risk districts, cities and towns...”.
Although there have been many instructions, it must be said that the measles vaccination rate has not been very good recently due to its specific nature. That is, since September 2018, the manufacturer of Quinvaxem vaccine (to prevent diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and pneumonia, meningitis caused by Hib bacteria) stopped production and supply, so Nghe An lacked this vaccine. Due to the lack of Quinvaxem, parents were also negligent in not taking their children to get vaccinated and not getting vaccinated against measles. People's complacency about measles combined with the fear of the comBe Five vaccine has resulted in a low vaccination rate. From July 2018 to now, Nghe An has had about 1,400 cases of measles.
Need to get involved synchronously and persistently
On the morning of January 30, leaders of the Department of Health, the Department of Medical Services (Department of Health), the Provincial Preventive Medicine Center, the Health Education and Communication Center of Nghe An Province and the Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital held a meeting to assess the measles situation and propose preventive measures. During this meeting, the Nghe An Health sector acknowledged that although measles in Nghe An is not as frequent and dangerous as the measles epidemic in 2014 (3 children died from measles), there are still many high-risk factors, especially the spread in the community. Preventing measles requires the active participation of the whole community.
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| Patients at the Department of Tropical Diseases. Photo: Thanh Son |
On January 30, the Department of Medical Affairs - Department of Health and the Provincial Center for Preventive Medicine advised the Department of Health to issue an official dispatch directing district, city and town medical centers to increase measles-rubella vaccination. If any unit has a low vaccination rate and measles outbreaks, disciplinary action will be considered... The Provincial Center for Health Education and Communication coordinates with mass media agencies and localities to continue to promote awareness of measles in the community through many forms and perspectives.
Doctor Phan Van Tu - Director of Nghe An Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital said: Measles is very dangerous, can lead to death when developing on other underlying diseases such as heart disease, malnutrition... Treating measles is also a big economic burden. Of the 1,042 children with measles, 200 children had to use immune-boosting drugs. Each child needed 3 bottles, each bottle costing over 4 million VND.
Doctor Nguyen Xuan Hong said: The health sector will clearly and specifically separate which localities have many measles patients; thereby strengthening inspection and supervision activities down to the communes and wards; directly working with each locality to mobilize the entire political and social system to participate... On the people's side, parents need to take their children to get vaccinated against measles; pay attention to their children's health status, when detecting signs of illness, they need to take them to medical facilities for treatment and not arbitrarily treat them at home. Measles can only be prevented and reduced when everyone works together and persistently implements vaccination.
