Hanoi (VNA) – Nearly 90 percent of measles cases reportedin Vietnam can be traced to people who were eithernot vaccinated against the highly contagious virus, received no fullvaccinations or had unknown vaccination status.

According to the Ministry of Health, since early February, measles cases havebeen recorded in 43 cities and provinces nationwide, largely in the southernregion, with 664 patients.

The ministry said the disease would spread if no drastic countermeasures are taken.

All 24 districts in Ho Chi Minh City have reported measles cases, with themajority in Binh Thanh, Thu Duc and Binh Chanh districts and District 7.

The city’s Preventive Medicine Department said 987 local children werehospitalised for measles treatment between January 1 and February 10, 2019. Upto 95 percent of them were not vaccinated.

Meanwhile, 53 measles cases have been found in the Central Highlands provinceof Dak Lak since the first case was discovered in January 14, with most of themin unplanned residential and remote areas.

Hanoi has recorded 114 cases ofmeasles since the start of 2019, a sharp increase compared with the same periodlast year when only eight cases were reported, the municipal Health Departmentsaid. 

Of the figure, 89.1 percent of patients had not been vaccinated or did not havefull vaccinations.

Director of the city’s Disease Control Centre Nguyen Nhat Cam said measles wasa highly infectious respiratory disease and often infected children under fiveyears old or adults who were not vaccinated. Symptoms include fever, coughing,runny nose, inflamed eyes and red, flat rashes on the skin. It can spread veryfast, particularly in crowded places.

The municipal Department of Health last yeardecided to run an additional measles-rubella vaccination campaign for childrenaged between 1 and 5. The campaign, starting last November, vaccinated 574,191out of 607,023 targeted children.

The department warned that people should be moreactive in getting vaccinations. Many parents have delayed vaccinating theirchildren over worries about side effects.

The first shot against measles is supposed totake place at nine months old and the second at 18 months old, according to theMinistry of Health’s national immunisation guidelines. 

Tran Dac Phu, head of the Health Ministry’s Preventive Medicine Department, saidmany children in both remote and urban areas have not been vaccinatedadequately, resulting in measures outbreaks in the community.

Therefore, in late 2018, the ministry launched an additional measles-rubellavaccination campaign for 4.2 million children aged between 1 and 5 in vulnerableareas in 57 cities and provinces, he said.

Luong Ngoc Khue, head of the Health Ministry’s Medical Examination andTreatment Department, urged hospitals to stepped up communication work to raisepublic awareness of the disease. -VNA