Medical facilities overloaded, hospitalizations increase dramatically
According to the Vinh Long Center for Disease Control, since the beginning of 2025, the World Health Center has recorded nearly 6,050 cases (an increase of 2.51 times), nearly 3,450 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease (an increase of 18%), and 7 cases of whooping cough. There were 10 cases of tetanus; measles - rubella 1,759 cases, in October alone, nearly 80 cases of chickenpox were recorded, mainly concentrated in companies with many workers.
At Mang Thit Regional Medical Center, in recent days, there has been a situation of overloaded children being hospitalized and treated as inpatients, exceeding the bed capacity by 3 times, with about 90 children per day, an increase of more than 2 times compared to previous months. The main group of diseases is dengue fever, hand, foot and mouth disease and respiratory diseases.
Taking care of her daughter with pneumonia in the Department of Pediatrics, Ms. Tran Thi Tham (Trung Hiep commune) said that her son had symptoms of fever, cough, and vomiting. She thought the fever was normal, so she bought medicine at a shop near her home to give him for 3 days but it still did not go away.
"When my child had a big cough, I took him to the hospital for examination, the doctor diagnosed him with pneumonia, and he had to be hospitalized for treatment," Ms. Tham added.
According to Dr. Bui Viet Dung - Deputy Head of the Department of Pediatrics, most children suffer from respiratory and digestive diseases such as rhinitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, digestive infections, hand, foot and mouth disease andnhest.
According to Dr. Dung, diseases usually go away after 57 days, but children with fever, cough, and prolonged vomiting need to go to medical facilities and do not use medicine at home.
Thanks to proactive disease prevention, medical staff are regularly trained, improve care, monitoring and treatment skills, most children recover well, are discharged safely, and limit referrals to higher levels, said Dr. Dung.
Community support - raising awareness of disease prevention early
In addition to the efforts of the health sector, the community plays an important role in disease prevention. In Cho Hamlet, Nhon Phu Commune, Ms. Ngo Thi Kieu Linh - Head of the Front Work Committee said that since the beginning of the year, 10 cases of dengue fever have been recorded, but thanks to timely handling, no new outbreaks have occurred.
"People are being propagandized to raise awareness of killing mosquito larvae, covering them with coating, and water bottles. The coordination between the government and grassroots health care helps control the epidemic effectively, limiting the spread in the community," Ms. Linh added.
Speaking with Lao Dong, Dr. Ho Thi Thu Hang - Director of Vinh Long Department of Health - said that for disease prevention and control to be effective, preventive medicine and communication play a key role.
According to Ms. Hang, proactive disease prevention during the rainy season is very important. When precautions are well implemented, it will help prevent outbreaks, reduce cases, deaths and treatment costs. Activities such as vaccination, vector control, personal hygiene and environmental disinfection are the "shield" to protect the community.
Ms. Hang emphasized that communication and health education work is also extremely important, helping people understand the causes, symptoms and prevention of infectious diseases, thereby proactively protecting themselves and the community.
Communication is the bridge to bring scientific knowledge to the community, form a habit of proactive disease prevention in each family, contributing to the health sector in implementing disease prevention and control solutions early and remotely, Dr. Thu Hang emphasized.
