VietNamNet Bridge – Pediatric hospitals in HCM City have received four children diagnosed with malaria, including three patients from the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong and one from the southern province of Binh Phuoc.

Ta Thi Ngoc Y., seven years old, from Binh Phuoc Province’s Bu Dang District, is being treated at Pediatric Hospital No.2 for malaria. —Photo plo.vn

For many years, there were no incidences of children with malaria reported in the country, according to Truong Huu Khanh, head of Pediatric Hospital No 1’s infection diseases department.

Seven-year-old Ta Thi Ngoc Y. from Binh Phuoc Province’s Bu Dang District and one-year-old Ngo Bui Bao U from Dak Nong Province’s Dak Glong District were transferred to Pediatric Hospital No 2 on November 14 and 17, respectively.

The two patients were hospitalised with a high fever, diarrhea, severe anaemia and chills, said Le Hai Loi, a doctor at the hospital’s infection diseases department.

Treatment was administered after the suspected malaria cases were confirmed by parasite-based diagnostic tests. The two patients are in stable condition and are expected to be discharged from the hospital in a few days.

If not treated in a timely manner, malaria can progress to severe illness and lead to death.

Residents living in areas that have ongoing malaria transmission or travellers to these areas should visit hospitals to have blood tests for early diagnosis of malaria, particularly if they a long-lasting fever, Loi said.

Khanh of Pediatric Hospital No 1 said that a 3-year-old and five-month-old from Dak Nong Province had also been diagnosed with malaria after blood tests were taken.

The patients were hospitalised with a high fever and severe anaemia. The two patients are in stable condition after several days of treatment.

Malaria is transmitted through the bites of Anopheles mosquitoes. Sleeping under a mosquito net and indoor spraying can help prevent mosquito bites and reduce malaria transmission, Khanh said.

Source: VNS