On November 18, the Ministry of Health informed about the situation of some acute respiratory infections in Vietnam.
In recent years, Vietnam has continuously recorded a large number of cases of acute respiratory infections. On average, there are about 300,000 to 500,000 cases nationwide. Entering 2025, the development of the epidemic has changed over time: the number of cases decreased slightly in the mid-year period, but increased again in the past three months, with a rate of 8,500 to 11,000 cases per month. This increasing trend shows that the risk of respiratory disease outbreaks is always present, especially in the context of erratic weather changes and changing seasons.
For seasonal flu in particular, this is a year-round disease in Vietnam and tends to increase at changing seasons. Since the beginning of 2025, the country has recorded more than 132,000 cases of seasonal flu, including 03 deaths. Compared to the same period in 2024, data shows that the number of cases decreased by 54.8% (in 2024 recorded 267,401 cases) and the number of deaths decreased by 3 cases (in 2024 there were 6 deaths).
The main influenza virus strains currently circulating in Vietnam include: Influenza A(H1N1), influenza A/H3N2 and influenza B. Up to now, the specialized agency has not recorded changes in the monopoly of these virus strains.
The Ministry of Health believes that the weather is currently in the transitional season, the erratic changes in temperature and humidity are favorable conditions for respiratory diseases to develop and spread, especially seasonal flu and diseases caused by RSV virus; at the same time, at the end of the year, there is an increase in exchanges, travel and organization of many crowded events such as conferences, summits, weddings, ... increasing the risk of spreading from public areas, gathering crowded people to households and increasing the risk of disease in children and the elderly who are at high risk.
According to the report of the monitoring system, there has been a local increase in cases of seasonal flu, RSV virus disease, hand, foot and mouth disease in some localities, including many hospitalizations at end-of-line hospitals, especially in the Northern region such as the National Children's Hospital, the National Tropical Hospital.
Maintaining personal hygiene habits, regularly getting vaccinated against influenza and closely monitoring the epidemic situation will contribute significantly to protecting public health and minimizing the risk of outbreaks in the coming time.
To prevent acute respiratory infections, the Ministry of Health recommends that people maintain personal hygiene, wash their hands regularly, cover their mouths when coughing/sneezing and avoid putting their hands on their eyes, nose, and mouth. Wear a mask in crowded places or when there are symptoms of suspected illness...
