HCM City declares measles outbreak amid rising cases

A child patient with measles is being treated at HCM City Children Hospital No.1. — VNA/VNS Photo Đinh Hằng

HCM CITY — HCM City People’s Committee on Tuesday declared a measles outbreak across the city due to a rapid increase in cases in the southern hub.

The committee also issued a plan to proactively respond to the measles outbreak. Accordingly, the Department of Health was requested to coordinate with relevant departments and agencies to urgently implement activities to prevent and control the spread of measles, including vaccination.

The department was required to instruct local healthcare facilities to provide timely treatment to measles patients to minimise severe cases and fatalities as well as fully report on measles cases and measles outbreaks in line with regulations. 

Departments, agencies and localities were asked to regularly conduct inter-sectoral inspections in epidemic prevention and control and strictly handle individuals and organisations that violate prevention rules, resulting in the spread of the disease.

The city will launch a campaign to supplement measles vaccination for all children aged 1-5 in the locality, regardless of previous vaccination record.

Statistics from HCM City Centre for Disease Control showed that in the past week, the city recorded 85 cases of fever accompanied by rash with 20 cases confirmed to be measles.

A total of 525 cases of fever accompanied by rash have been reported since the beginning of this year.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can spread rapidly following an incubation period of seven to 21 days.

Medical experts have cautioned the disease can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis, otitis media, keratitis, diarrhoea, and even death.

Measles can only be effectively managed when the community immunity rate reaches 95% and each individual has received two doses of the vaccine. — VNS