The Ho Chi Minh City Tropical Diseases Hospital has reported that adults accounted for 33 percent of the 1,031 in-patients treated for measles so far this year.>> Parents dash to get kids vaccinated against measles in southern Vietnam >> Vietnam’s capital offers free measles vaccination to kids aged 6 or under >> Parents rush to get babies vaccinated for measles >> Occupying 50% of measles mortality, Vietnam’s capital yet to declare epidemic >> Over 7,000 children catch measles in Vietnam; at least 111 die: report

The figure is equal to 345 patients and was recorded from the beginning of the year to April 22, said Dr. Vo Minh Quang, deputy head of the hospital’s General Planning Department. Meanwhile, measles has affected more than 7,000 children and killed 119 of them nationwide since the disease recurred in Vietnam in late 2013, according to statistics from the Health Ministry. Among the adult patients at the hospital, the oldest is 66 years old. Measles in adults is normally benign, hardly leading to death, Dr. Quang said. However, the disease may become serious in pregnant women, elderly people, and those who suffer from a malignant disease or immune deficiency, he said. A number of patients can contract untypical measles and it can be mistakenly diagnosed as Rubella or an allergic condition, the doctor added. Over the past few days, HCMC residents have hurriedly taken their kids to the municipal Pasteur Institute and the local Preventive Health Center for vaccination against measles. As previously reported, the Health Ministry has yet to declare measles an epidemic, but said this does not mean the ministry has concealed the epidemic situation.

The ministry said late last year that there was a measles outbreak and requested that all children under two years old be vaccinated against the disease, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said on Friday last week.  Precautions Measles, which mostly affects children, is a highly contagious viral disease and transmitted via droplets from the noses, mouths or throats of infected people when they cough, sneeze or talk, Dr. Quang said.  Initial symptoms, which usually appear 10–12 days after infection, include high fever, runny noses, bloodshot eyes, and tiny white spots on the inside of the mouth. Several days later, a rash develops, starting on the face and upper neck and gradually spreading downwards to the feet, Dr. Quang said, adding that such a condition usually causes no itch but patients can develop continuous high fever. After getting rashes, patients will enter a recovery period, in which the fever will subside and the rashes will gradually dissipate.   However, measles can cause serious complications, particularly in malnourished children, people with reduced immunity, pregnant women and elderly people, the doctor warned.  Such complications include encephalitis, blindness, severe diarrhea, ear infection and pneumonia, he added. The best way to avoid measles is immunization, Dr. Quang said. People with measles symptoms should wear face masks, frequently wash hands, quarantine themselves from others, and should not travel to crowded areas, the doctor advised. They should arrive at health facilities for examinations and diagnoses, he said, adding if they merely catch light measles, doctors can give them prescriptions and instructions so that they can be treated at home, subject to further checks, he said.

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