Measles cases increase
According to records at Children's Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, in the past month, the number of measles cases at the hospital has been relatively high.
Speaking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Master, Doctor Nguyen Thanh Trang - Department of Infectious Diseases - Neurology, Children's Hospital 1, Ho Chi Minh City - said that currently, on average, the hospital treats 80-110 measles cases per day, of which 30-40 are new cases. The number of children under 9 months old accounts for about 20-30%. The number of children from the province coming for examination accounts for 70-80%.
According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, in week 45 (November 4-10), the total number of measles cases in Ho Chi Minh City was 167, an increase of 29% compared to the average of the previous 4 weeks. The number of cases from other provinces coming to the 3 children's hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City and the Tropical Diseases Hospital also increased by 44% compared to the average of the previous 4 weeks.
The number of new cases continues to increase in children aged 6 months to under 9 months. The number of cases in this age group is 274 children, currently accounting for 17% of the total number of cases in the city.
The surveillance system has also recorded an increase in cases in older age groups. In August 2024, there were an average of 8-9 cases per week in people aged 11 and older, accounting for 12% of the total number of cases per week. To date, there are an average of 40 cases per week in this age group, accounting for 30% of the total number of cases per week.
Faced with the increasing number of new measles cases, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health directed the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC) to survey 51 children aged 1-10 who contracted measles in week 44. Of these, 32 children (accounting for 64%) had not been vaccinated against measles before contracting the disease.
HCDC also noted that schools were missing out on children who needed to be vaccinated during the campaign. Therefore, the measles vaccination campaign has been implemented for more than 2 months with a very high reported vaccination rate, but in reality, there are still new measles cases every week in the campaign age group.
The survey results also showed that 17% of sick children aged 1-5 years old had their addresses declared on the vaccination information system in other provinces and 23% of children had no names on the system. The situation of the declared addresses on the system not matching the actual addresses or not having names on the system resulted in the children not being managed and invited for vaccination by ward and commune health stations. This is a big challenge for the management of vaccination subjects in Ho Chi Minh City.
Do not leave out children who have not been vaccinated against measles locally.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, the fundamental solution to the challenge of managing vaccination subjects is that each locality from commune, ward, district to province and city must continue to seriously implement the activity of "going to every alley, knocking on every door, checking every subject", strictly complying with the regulations on using the national vaccination information management system.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health requested the People's Committees of districts, towns, and Thu Duc City to direct the health center to coordinate with the education department to review the progress of measles vaccination at schools.At the same time, continue to maintain updates on the situation of displaced children in each locality, promote the role of departments, unions, and community health collaborators, and not miss out on children who have not been vaccinated against measles in the area.
In parallel with continuing to implement the measles vaccination campaign for children aged 1-10, the city's health sector is preparing to deploy a measles vaccination plan for children aged 6 months to under 9 months.The health sector recommends that parents and family members proactively take their children to get vaccinated against measles to protect them.
The city's health sector has also added two groups of subjects to be vaccinated against measles, including people in classes with measles cases in middle and high schools; and people caring for people with immunodeficiency, including children and adults, at social assistance facilities or drug rehabilitation camps under the city's Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs.
According to the World Health Organization, the monovalent measles vaccine can be given to children aged 6 to under 9 months during outbreaks as an enhanced anti-epidemic measure. This vaccine is considered the “0 measles” shot. After that, children continue to be vaccinated with 2 doses of measles vaccine according to the expanded immunization program schedule at 9 months and 18 months of age.
