The Hanoi People’s Committee has not declared measles an epidemic even when roughly half of over 100 deaths from the disease came from Vietnam’s capital.>> Over 7,000 children catch measles in Vietnam; at least 111 die: report >> Vietnam ministry quadruples child mortality from measles to at least 108, epidemic declaration pending  >> 25 children die of measles; Vietnam experts suggest declaring epidemic

They have argued that there have yet to be ‘enough conditions’ for such a declaration while the World Health Organization (WHO) says three fatalities are already ‘enough.’ Tran Dac Phu, head of the Health Ministry’s Preventive Health Department, said Thursday that 114 children have died nationwide of measles and its complications since the illness recurred in the country late last year.

About half of the deaths were kids in Hanoi, according to statistics. 

After attending a closed-door meeting on April 16 with the representatives of the WHO, Bach Mai Hospital, Dong Da Hospital, and the Hanoi Department of Health, Dr. Nguyen Van Kinh, director of the Central Tropical Diseases Hospital in Hanoi, said over 7,000 children across the country have contracted measles.

Dr. Kinh also said that the ailment has spread to 61 of the country’s total of 63 provinces and cities.

Cao Bang and Bac Kan, two northern provinces, have yet to report any measles cases, Dr. Kinh said.

Health authorities estimated that the capital has occupied about 30 percent of the number of measles patients and 50 percent of the deaths from measles and its complications countrywide.

However, the authorities have not declared measles an epidemic, maintaining that conditions for such a declaration are not met now.

Although it is a benign disease, measles can cause serious complications that may lead to death, health experts have warned.

Measles can cause rapid immunodeficiency, leading to other diseases including pneumonia and diarrhea, which can be very serious and even cause death, said Phu, the preventive health department head.WHO: 3 cases enough for epidemic declaration 

At the closed-door meeting, WHO Chief Representative in Vietnam Takeshi Kasai said that declaring a measles outbreak depends on each country’s consideration, while only three measles cases are already ‘enough’ for the declaration.   

Meanwhile, there exists a phenomenon in which reports on measles patients submitted to the Hanoi People’s Committee have been ‘shrunk’ to show a lower number of measles cases.

Specifically, on April 14, the Health Ministry announced that Hanoi had more than 1,500 measles cases, but two days later, the Hanoi Health Department reported to the city government that the number was only 1,052, around 30 percent lower than the ministry’s figure.

Therefore, the fact that the Hanoi People’s Committee has continually refused to regard measles as an epidemic may partly result from such amended reports.

In reality, the Hanoi Health Department has been so slow in responding to the disease’s developments.

According to a report from the Ministry of Health, measles began breaking out in the northern hub on January 1, but it was not until February 6, when a 7-month-old baby died from the illness, that the department reported it to the ministry.

In addition, the capital’s health authorities did not take any significant action to prevent measles during the first two months of this year.

The department only started making efforts to cope with the disease when the ministry launched a vaccination campaign against measles in March.

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