A leprosy patient is being taken care of. (Source: VNA)
The central province of Binh Thuan has met all Ministry of Health criteria for leprosy management, heard a workshop held by the provincial Department of Health and the National Hospital of Dermatology and Venerology on October 27.
The ministry inspected leprosy eradication work randomly in 10 recently infected communes across the province on October 26-27. The four main criteria were management of lepers, detection of new cases, caring for patients with disabilities and promoting communication about the disease.
The investigations showed that for the past three consecutive years, the leprosy prevalence rate has remained at a rate of less than 0.02 per 10,000 people, with all patients properly cared for. Basic knowledge about the disease was also taught in schools.
The province devised a wide range of comprehensive preventive and controlling measures to eliminate the disease at all levels, including checking-ups, early detection and publicity campaigns to raise awareness about the disease in the community.
The provincial Hospital of Dermatology and Venerology joined with the one in Ho Chi Minh City to provide orthopedic surgery services for leprosy patients with disabilities to help improve their appearance, while mobilising resources for seriously infected patients.
The province’s health sector aims to strengthen communications work in a bid to eliminate the disease at the district level by 2020, said Le Huynh Phuc, director of the Hospital.
It is also striving to help infected people integrate into the community, and provide them with health insurance coverage and stable homes, he added.
In 1998, Binh Thuan had the highest rate of new cases nationwide – 308 per one million people. The rate is now seven per 1.2 million people.
The province now has 505 leprosy patients, dropped from 805 in 2005.-VNA
All provinces and cities are expected to achieve key indicators related to leprosy elimination by 2015, according to the agency that provides technical guidance to hospitals for the national leprosy prevention programme.
Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thi Xuyen has urged the five remaining localities where leprosy still exists to carry out more drastic measures towards a Vietnam free from leprosy-related issues by the end of 2015.
Vietnam now boasts a nationwide healthcare network with 1,665 hospitals, 384 of which are non-public, supported by local commune- and ward-level stations. At the end of 2024, hospital bed capacity reached 34 per 10,000 people, slightly above the global average.
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After such a long time, the law has revealed many limitations, prompting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to gather opinions to amend the law to give more chances to thousands of patients every year.
Currently, cardiovascular specialists from the 108 Military Central Hospital are working alongside a team of Prof.Dr. Jan D. Schmitto, Deputy Director of MHH’s Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery on clinical trials for MCS devices, implanted in heart failure patients either as a bridge to transplantation or as permanent treatment.
The centre not only serves residents living on the island, but also receives tens of thousands of visitors every year, according to Assoc Prof Dr Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the HCM CIty Department of Health.
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During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ministry of Health swiftly launched a telemedicine programme, connecting more than 1,000 medical establishments nationwide. The model, which remains in operation, has benefited tens of thousands of patients, including foreign nationals.
After more than three weeks of intensive treatment, the patient's pneumonia improved, breathing stabilised, sedation was reduced, and the breathing tube was removed. He is now conscious, able to eat orally, and in recovery.
A leprosy patient is being taken care of. (Source: VNA)
