Vietnam ranks fifth globally for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis
VOV.VN - Vietnam has been placed fifth in the world in terms of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis with over 55,000 cases reported annually.
This information was revealed on February 28 by Dr. Dinh Van Luong, director of the Central Lung Hospital, during a health conference on aspergillosis.
According to the professional, Aspergillus fungus only affects those with weakened immune systems, causing fever, coughing, dyspnea, chest pain, fatigue, and cachexia.
He noted that the rate of pulmonary fungal disease accounts for only 0.02% of lung diseases, however, when lung fungus is not detected and promptly treated, the possibility of death becomes very high.
He said that the disease is primarily caused by several different fungi such as Candida, Aspergillus, and Cryptococcus, of which, Aspergillus is the most common type.
Dr. Luong said that some common symptoms of the lung fungal disease include prolonged hemoptysis occurring for no apparent reason, prolonged fever with chest pains, persistent coughing with phlegm, constant coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath like asthma. Along with these are cases of pneumonia who are treated with long-term antibiotic treatment, but their health fails to improve.
Addressing the conference, Dr. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, head of the Respiratory Department at the National Lung Hospital, noted that about half of the cases who are left untreated will die after five years.
She therefore advised patients treat aspergillosis as soon as possible via antifungal medication in combination with other measures such as surgery. Indeed, treatment must occur over a period of six to 12 months.
Dr. Ngoc also added the cost of lung fungus treatment is very high, a factor which creates a great financial burden for patients.
At present, Vietnam is among the leading countries in detection and still faces many difficulties in early diagnosis due to inadequate testing methods and high treatment costs.
According to health experts, people should stay away from dusty areas, wear face masks, and protective gloves when handling materials such as soil, moss, or manure, as well as doing exercises and eating fresh fruits to improve resistance.