On the morning of March 26, immediately after her son was vaccinated against meningococcus at the Can Tho Center for Disease Control (CDC), Ms. Cao Thi Trang breathed a sigh of relief. Ms. Trang shared that after monitoring the complicated disease progression in some localities, she decided to take her son away immediately without hesitation.
According to her, protecting children's health with vaccines in the current context is a top priority. Along with that, families also maintain strict hygiene habits such as limiting going to crowded places, requiring children to bathe and disinfect their hands with specialized solutions.
Commenting on the danger level of the disease, Doctor CKI Huynh Thanh Trieu (in charge of the General Clinic - specialized clinic CDC of Can Tho City), said that meningococcus is an extremely dangerous acute bacterial infection, with a mortality rate ranging from 5% to 15%.
In many cases, the period from the patient's onset of the first symptoms to death can be limited to 24 hours.
One of the biggest barriers in early detection of meningococcus is that the initial symptoms are often very vague and easily confused with common flu. Accordingly, patients often start with a sudden high fever, severe headache and nausea.
People should pay special attention to more characteristic signs such as stiff neck, fear of light or drowsiness, coma, lethargy. Meningococcal disease has late signs when necrotic rashes or hemorrhagic rashes begin to appear on the skin.
The disease is usually transmitted through the respiratory tract when in close contact with people who are sick or carriers of the disease" - Dr. Trieu informed.
According to statistics at Can Tho CDC, in recent days, the number of people coming for counseling and vaccination against meningococcal disease has increased by about 20-30% compared to the same period, averaging 30 to 50 visits per day. This shows the sensitivity of people to warning information, but Dr. Trieu also advised that everyone needs to maintain a calm attitude and avoid extreme panic.
Instead of being overly worried, parents should proactively review their children's personal vaccination books to accurately determine their immunity status. In case data is no longer stored or there is suspicion of not getting enough doses, it is necessary to go to medical facilities to check history or revaccinate from the beginning according to instructions" - Dr. Huynh Thanh Trieu added.
Currently, the Vietnamese health system has supplied a variety of meningococcal vaccines licensed by the Ministry of Health, capable of effectively preventing common bacterial groups such as A, B, C, Y and W-135.
