Health ministry tightens control over hand-foot-mouth disease
The Ministry of Health has asked local authorities and hospitals nationwide to strengthen preventive measures to control the spread of hand-foot-mouth disease.
Babies with hand-food-mouth disease are treated at HCM City’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Health hasasked local authorities and hospitals nationwide to strengthen preventivemeasures to control the spread of hand-foot-mouth disease.
In the first nine months of this year, over53,500 infections were reported nationwide, and nearly 25,900 victims werehospitalised, six of whom died in five cities and provinces in the south.
Deputy Director of the Health Ministry’sPreventive Medicine Department Dang Quang Tan said that compared with the sameperiod last year, the number of infections had dropped by 25 percent and thenumber of hospitalised patients had fallen 20 percent.
Hanoi, Da Nang and localities in the southincluding Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Dong Thap and Long An haveseen sharp increases in the last few weeks.
The disease tends to spread quickly as students returnfor the new school year, he said, adding that there was no vaccine for thedisease.
The Health Ministry asked local healthdepartments to work closely with education departments and schools to spreadthe word about disease prevention and control, especially in kindergartens andpreschools.
Schools have been instructed to provide soap inbathrooms and ensure students wash their hands.
In Vietnam, the disease occurs throughout theyear, but the peak season is from March until May and September to December.Children can get hand-foot-mouth disease at all ages but children below threeyears old are more susceptible.
The disease is usually a short mild illness, butin some cases patients can experience complications such as encephalitis,meningitis, myocarditis and acute pneumochysis, which can cause death if notproperly treated.
Last year, over 100,000 hand-foot-mouth diseasecases were detected, of which one death was reported.-VNA
The prevention and treatment of winter-spring diseases should be implemented effectively and synchronically, Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said at a teleconference on January 4.
Students face several diseases at the beginning of the new school year, such as dengue fever, hand-foot-mouth disease, measles and flu, so epidemic prevention efforts should be strengthened, health experts warned.
Citizens of Hoang Van Thu commune of Hanoi’s outlying district of Chuong My were provided with free health check-ups and medicine on August 16, as the area had been submerged by floodwater for three weeks.
Hanoi has reported 955 cases of dengue fever in 261 communes, wards and towns across its 30 districts from the outset of the year, a year-on-year decrease of 96.8 percent.
Hospitals in the southern region have admitted many patients diagnosed with hand-foot-mouth disease, measles or upper respiratory infections as the peak season for contagious diseases has arrived.
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Health authorities in HCM City have issued an urgent alert after six people died from dengue fever, amid a spike in infections driven by the onset of the rainy season.
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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.
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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.
Not only does Vietnam attract international tourists with its landscapes, culture, and cuisine, but it is also gradually becoming a reliable destination for medical treatment, offering high-quality services at reasonable costs.
Over the past six months, 150 communal health stations in provinces including Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, Ben Tre and Ca Mau have been equipped with information technology systems. In addition, 117 key provincial healthcare workers have received training, with thousands more expected to follow.
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.
Babies with hand-food-mouth disease are treated at HCM City’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases. (Photo: VNA) 
