Hanoi reports its first death due to streptococcal infection.

As a result, the patient tested positive for Streptococcus suis bacteria. Despite intensive treatment, due to advanced age and the severity of the disease, the patient did not survive.

This is the city's first death from Streptococcus suis infection this year. Thus far this year, Hanoi has recorded 7 cases of Streptococcus suis infection, including one death.

According to health experts, those at high risk of streptococcal infection include people involved in slaughtering and processing sick or dead pigs; people working in centralized pig slaughterhouses; and people who consume raw blood pudding and other undercooked pork products.

With this disease, the incubation period is short, ranging from a few hours to 2-3 days; however, in some cases, the incubation period can be up to several weeks.

People infected with Streptococcus suis may develop septicemia, purulent meningitis, or a combination of both. Depending on the form, the disease can be mild or severe, with some cases showing severe infection from the outset.

The most common clinical presentation of Streptococcus suis infection is meningitis. Common manifestations of meningitis include: high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, deafness, stiff neck, altered consciousness, and petechiae or ecchymoses (small hemorrhagic spots) on the earlobes, nose, face, and trunk. Examination reveals stiff neck, and lumbar puncture shows abnormalities: cloudy fluid, increased pressure, increased white blood cells, and protein in the cerebrospinal fluid.

In severe cases, septic syndrome and septic shock (with or without meningitis) progress rapidly: circulatory collapse, severe coagulation disorders, multiple organ failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, coma, and rapid death.

Many children contract Covid-19, but their parents mistake it for the flu.

According to Dr. Nguyen Huu Vinh, Head of the General Planning Department at Hai Duong Children's Hospital, the number of children hospitalized with Covid-19 has been the highest since the beginning of the year in the past month. The hospital's Infectious Diseases Department regularly has 10-15 children with Covid-19 receiving inpatient treatment.

All children under 1 year old who had not been vaccinated against Covid-19 were hospitalized with high fever of 38-39 degrees Celsius or higher, runny nose, cough, fussiness, and loss of appetite.

Before being admitted to the hospital, most of the children had been given medication at home by their parents, but it didn't help. They mistakenly thought their children had influenza A, influenza B, etc. Only after being admitted to the hospital for testing was it confirmed that they had Covid-19.

Hai Duong Pediatric Hospital has an isolation area for treating patients with Covid-19. Most young children with the disease are discharged after a few days of treatment. Since the beginning of the year, Hai Duong Pediatric Hospital has not recorded a single Covid-19 patient with severe complications.

However, Dr. Nguyen Huu Vinh warns that parents self-medicating at home without knowing exactly what illness their child has can cause significant harm to their health.

Children with Covid-19 who are treated at home without following the correct protocol and for an extended period may develop dangerous respiratory complications. When children show unusual health symptoms, parents should take them to see a doctor for timely examination and treatment advice.

Parents should avoid exposing their children to adults who show signs of illness, limit their exposure to crowded places, and ensure their children have a balanced and nutritious daily diet to boost their immune system.

A major breakthrough in the field of Genetics

Speaking at a recent event of the Vietnam Genetics Association, Associate Professor Kim Bao Giang, Vice Rector of Hanoi Medical University, stated that the field of medical genetics is making increasingly significant contributions to medicine. Biomedical and genetic activities are gradually contributing to disease diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of genetic diseases.

In recent years, the field of genetics has made significant strides with the development of genetic techniques, bringing about major changes across various sectors.

Particularly in medicine, the application of genetics' achievements has led to many breakthroughs in disease diagnosis and treatment, contributing to better healthcare for the Vietnamese people. Medical genetics impacts all areas of medicine, including oncology, hematology, cardiology, and assisted reproduction.

According to the President of the Vietnam Medical Genetics Association, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Duc Phan, advances in genetic engineering have created major breakthroughs in the treatment of important diseases such as cancer. These include targeted therapy, immunomodulatory therapy, and gene therapy.

Genetic interventions are increasingly being applied, including in the treatment of difficult diseases such as cancer.

Some current advances in cancer genetics include oligonucleotide gene therapy; cancer-lysing viral therapy; cell and tissue therapy; cancer vaccines; and genetic interventions in cancer, particularly those using CRISPR-Cas9.

Genetic interventions have been gradually developing. This will be a future direction of development. Gene therapy and targeted molecular therapy offer clinical and cancer treatment outcomes that were previously unimaginable.