According to the reporter at Can Tho Children's Hospital, there are currently 3 cases of children with measles being treated, including two children under 1 year old and one child 6 years old. It is worth noting that these cases have not been vaccinated against measles or have not received enough doses.
With a 10-month-old child being treated for measles at the hospital's Infectious Diseases Department, Ms. TTM (O Mon District, Can Tho City) said: "At first, the baby only had a normal fever, so the family gave her medicine but it did not help. When she went to the hospital, the doctor told her that her mother had measles and pneumonia. My whole family was very worried and regretful. When we return, we will pay attention to getting the baby vaccinated."
Mr. NTN (Long My district, Hau Giang province) said that when he was a child, he had one injection and because he moved, his family forgot to give him the injection.
"We didn't expect that the child would get sick right when he was about to start school. Seeing him in so much pain really broke our hearts. We hope other parents are warned and don't end up like us," said Mr. N.
Since the beginning of 2024, Can Tho has had 16 cases of children with measles, of which about a quarter have developed severe symptoms. This number is not much, but in the current context, the Can Tho health sector is always vigilant because the disease can break out into an epidemic.
Specialist Doctor II Huynh Hung Dung - Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases (Can Tho Children's Hospital) - informed that measles is highly contagious, leading to many complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis - meningitis, otitis media, corneal ulcers... However, measles is a disease that can be completely prevented by vaccination when the child is 9 months old and a booster shot when the child is 18 months old.
"The top priority is for parents to get their children vaccinated against measles as soon as they are full-term, and remember to schedule booster shots so that their children are immune. In addition, when parents see their children showing signs of fever accompanied by upper respiratory tract infection, conjunctivitis, etc., they should take their children to the hospital for early diagnosis and treatment," Dr. Dung advised.
In particular, the children treated at the Department are now in stable health. However, the doctor also advises parents to be careful in taking care of their children, because it is not possible to rule out certain effects on the digestive and respiratory systems.
