Ho Chi Minh City faces burden of infectious diseases
VOV.VN - The Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Disease Control has announced that over recent weeks, the city has recorded a significant increase in cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD), dengue fever, and measles.
Accordingly, from September 16 to 22, the southern metropolis detected 371 cases of HFMD, an increase of 26.7% compared to the average recorded four weeks earlier, raising the total number of infections since the beginning of the year to 11,800.
The centre advised local residents to take prevention measures as recommended by health authorities, as the number of HFMD and dengue infections will keep rising in the coming time.
According to professionals, HFMD is an infectious disease of the gastrointestinal tract which can progress rapidly and threaten life. This means that people, especially families with children under five years old, should strictly implement disease prevention measures, such as frequent hand washing with soap under running water, as well as regularly cleaning surfaces and tools children come into contact with every day.
Apart from a surge in the incidence rate of HFMD infections, last week saw the city record 328 cases of dengue fever, up 8.3% compared to the previous four weeks' average, taking the total number of dengue fever cases to 7,340 since the beginning of the year. Districts 1 and 7, as well as Thu Duc City, have in particular reported hot spots.
Epidemiological surveillance shows, dengue fever is typically caused by four dengue virus types, namely DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4, of which DEN-1 and DEN-2 are the most common types, accounting for 90% of the infections.
Health professionals suggested that people should remain vigilant and proactively prevent and control the disease, by killing larvae and adult mosquitoes and carrying out mosquito spraying in disease prone areas.
Moreover, the city has so far recorded a total of 743 cases of measles, mainly children under five, residing in the districts of Hoc Mon, Binh Tan, and Binh Chanh.
Medical experts cautioned that the disease can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis, otitis media, keratitis, diarrhea, and even death.
Measles can only be effectively managed when the community immunity rate reaches 95% and each individual has received two doses of the vaccine.
Amid a high risk of measle outbreaks occurring, the health sector has stepped up vaccinations and catch-up vaccinations against measles for children at health stations.
