Ministry urges local departments to work harder against measles

10:20, 2014/04/18

The Ministry of Health has pushed healthcare departments in all cities and provinces nationwide to keep a close eye on measles that is currently developing in 61 out of 63 localities.

The ministry asked local hospitals to set up clearly marked isolation wards for measles treatment to prevent the disease from spreading, while focusing all resources on ensuring the best conditions for patients.

According to Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long, as of April 16, there were as many as 3,126 measles cases nationwide.

Since the beginning of this year, 108 deaths have been caused by complications arising from measles. In total, 25 were killed directly by the disease, most of them under the age of 10 who had not been vaccinated.

The outbreak of the disease has resulted in the overloads at the National Hospital of Paediatrics and other central hospitals.

The ministry advised locals to apply preventive measures.

It also directed local health departments to continue vaccination campaigns against measles to make sure that 95 percent of total children are safe from the disease.

In a notice issued on April 16, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung urged ministries and local authorities nationwide to intensify measures against measles, blaming the high death toll on the insufficient quality and quantity of vaccinations administered.

In 2013, Vietnam recorded 1,048 measles cases, mostly in children under the age of 10 (75.9%).

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