Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien on Monday visited two hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, asking them to identify patients with measles as soon as possible and treat them in isolation to prevent the spread of the contagious viral disease. 

>> Vietnam to give free measles vaccination to children aged 2-10 >> Vietnam ministry warns of spread of measles during coming holiday>> Measles plagues Vietnam’s southern hub, no deaths reported Patients with measles and suspicious cases should be classified soon so that those with the contagion can be kept in quarantine, the minister said during her visits to the Pediatrics Hospital 1, located in District 10, and its satellite clinic, Binh Tan District General Hospital. Early classification and isolation are necessary to avoid the spread of measles as well as the cross-infection between patients with the illness and those with other diseases, she said. After seeing children with measles lying along a corridor at the Pediatrics Hospital 1 because of a patient overload, Minister Tien advised that the hospital receive measles patients in serious conditions only. Patients with minor ailments should be sent to satellite clinics of the hospital – such as Binh Tan District General Hospital – for treatment, or doctors can give them instructions for treatment at home, the minister said. Doctors at the Pediatrics Hospital 1 should give clear explanations to those patients with measles without any complications about their slight conditions, and kindly asked them to come to district hospitals for treatment, said Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the ministry’s Department of Medical Examination and Treatment, who accompanied Minister Tien. During her visit to the Pediatrics Hospital 1, the minister said the general situation of children with measles there was less serious than that at the Central Pediatrics Hospital in Hanoi, which accounts for half of the death toll from measles and its complications.HCMC ranks 2nd in measles patient cases; no death so far After visiting the two hospitals, Minister Tien had a meeting with the HCMC Health Department the same day to review the measles situation in the city. The city has had 1,732 measles cases since the disease recurred in the country late last year, Dr. Nguyen Tri Dung, head of the city Preventive Health Center told the meeting. More than 3,700 people caught measles in Vietnam and 131 of them died as of April 27, according to the ministry’s statistics.  However, according to a Tuoi Tre source, the death toll from the contagion by that day was higher, 135. At the meeting, the minister praised the local health authorities for its performance in coping with measles. The city ranks second nationwide, after Hanoi, when it comes to the number of measles patients, but no fatality has been reported so far, the minister said. Minister Tien asked the sector to continue its media activities aimed at enhancing public awareness of the importance of vaccination against measles. She also advised that city-based hospitals should strengthen screening and isolating measles patients to curb the spread of the disease.

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