According to the report of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), from the beginning of 2024 to now, the total number of suspected measles rash fever cases recorded in the community and medical facilities in Ho Chi Minh City is 597 cases. Of which, the number of measles positive cases is 346 cases, including 153 children living in Ho Chi Minh City and 193 children living in other provinces and cities.

Regarding the group of solutions for measles vaccine injections, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that to prevent measles, the health sector needs to perform vaccinations for children of vaccination age who have not received enough doses. At the same time, implement a campaign to inject additional vaccines for children aged 1-5 years old, including children with chronic diseases who do not have contraindications to vaccination.

Ho Chi Minh City deploys solutions to control measles epidemic.

Accordingly, to ensure the effectiveness of the supplementary vaccination campaign, district health centers need to review and make a list of all children aged 1-5 years old currently living in the area, paying attention to children in shelters and protection facilities.

In addition, hospitals will make a list of children with chronic diseases and underlying diseases that are being managed by the hospital and advise children on vaccination at the hospital if they are eligible.

“The effectiveness of preventing disease transmission when there is community immunity is also an indirect solution to protect people with malignant diseases and immunodeficiency who cannot be vaccinated,” the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health shared.

With the solution to protect children in the risk group, the Department recommends paying special attention to and protecting children with cardiovascular, lung, and kidney diseases who have not been vaccinated, children with immunodeficiency diseases, and malignant diseases. These are cases at risk of severe complications and death when infected with measles.

For this group of children, medical facilities need to strictly comply with infection control in medical facilities. Implement screening and isolation of suspected measles rash fever cases right at the examination department, and arrange separate examination tables for these cases to limit cross-infection to other patients.

At the same time, arrange an isolation area to treat suspected/infected measles patients in infectious disease departments. In case a patient with measles must be treated in another clinical department, a separate isolation area must be arranged, not shared with other cases.

According to the Department of Health, medical staff, including relatives of patients, need to strictly follow infection prevention measures such as wearing masks and hand hygiene when caring for children in risk groups; and encourage vaccination against measles according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health.

For children at risk of measles exposure during hospitalization due to contact with measles patients, immediate post-exposure prophylaxis with Immune Globulin is required. In addition, medical facilities must classify treatment and comply with the treatment regimen according to the Ministry of Health's guidelines.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, emphasized and directed the HCDC and district health centers to urgently implement activities to strengthen community immunity. At the same time, hospitals immediately implemented solutions to protect children in the risk group, all aimed at reducing the number of cases and minimizing deaths.

In order for the above groups of solutions to effectively control measles, the Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that it is necessary to strengthen communication work so that people can proactively implement disease prevention measures and respond to the vaccination campaign.

The Department of Health requested the HCDC, the People's Committees of districts and Thu Duc City to promote the role of the network of community health collaborators in communication work on measles prevention. At the same time, the Department of Health Inspectorate was required to promptly detect and handle cases of "anti-vaccine" propaganda and cases of providing false information, causing confusion in the community.