Vietnam premier urges health ministry to eliminate measles

Vietnam premier urges health ministry to eliminate measles

The Vietnamese Ministry of Health should make more efforts and mobilize all possible resources to drive back and eliminate measles as soon as possible, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said in a meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday.

>> Hospital in Vietnam metropolis treats 345 adults with measles>> Parents dash to get kids vaccinated against measles in southern Vietnam >> Vietnam's capital offers free measles vaccination to kids aged 6 or under

Addressing the meeting, which reviewed the country’s performance in coping with measles that has killed at least 119 children nationwide since it recurred in Vietnam in late 2013, the PM urged Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien to use all possible means to combat the contagion.

Tien asserted that the health sector is not faced with any shortage of vaccines against measles now in response to a question by the premier on the ministry’s disease prevention and control efforts.

The health ministry has provided 1.2 million doses of high-quality Japanese-made vaccines against measles to a number of provinces and cities.

Respirators and medicines for patients are also sufficient, the minister said.

PM Dung cited a report from the ministry as saying that fewer new measles cases have been reported but the number of infected patients remains high.

In addition, the measles vaccination rate is under 50 percent in 11 provinces, the PM said.

Therefore, the ministry should expand communications campaigns to raise public awareness of the disease and take all necessary precautions, especially giving more vaccinations, he said.

“We must be determined to eliminate measles as soon as possible. We have the ability to ensure adequate facilities for epidemic prevention and control,” Dung said.

3,570 measles cases, 119 deaths

As of April 23, nearly 3,570 measles cases were found in 61 out of the country’s total of 63 cities and provinces, according to a report released by the health ministry at the meeting.

Of the measles patients, 37 percent was in Hanoi, the report said.

Children under ten occupied over 68 percent of measles patients while babies under nine months old made up 19 percent.

Vietnamese health officials now instruct that only children aged between nine and 24 months be vaccinated against the ailment.

It is worth noting that as many as 86.4 percent of the measles patients were not vaccinated against the disease, while 9.9 percent of them got just one vaccine shot while at least two doses are required.

Measles and its complications have killed 119 children since late 2013, the ministry reported, adding that both children and adults have contracted measles.

The Ho Chi Minh City Tropical Diseases Hospital has announced that adults accounted for 33 percent of the 1,031 in-patients treated for measles so far this year.

The figure is equal to 345 patients and was recorded from the beginning of the year to April 22, said Dr. Vo Minh Quang, deputy head of the hospital’s General Planning Department.

Measles is a benign disease but it can cause serious complications that even lead to death, Dr. Quang said.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Vietnam premier urges health ministry to eliminate measles Related image(s)