VietNamNet Bridge – The measles epidemic is under control, while other diseases are on the wane. However, the number of chickenpox cases is soaring in Hanoi. And in HCM City, foot and mouth disease is quickly gaining ground.



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At a meeting of the Hanoi Steering Committee against Epidemic yesterday, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Health, Mr. Hoang Duc Hanh, said that from January 1 to May 1 there were 63 deaths related to measles. However, since last Friday Hanoi has not had any measles-related deaths, and the number of measles patients has fallen sharply, with only 12 new cases recorded on May 6.

Hanh added that Hanoi’s hospitals have not recorded any cases of encephalitis or cholera. However, since early this year Hanoi has had more than 860 cases of chickenpox, an increase of nearly 600 over the same period in 2013.

To prevent chickenpox, the Hanoi Department of Health has been promoting hygiene and vaccination. Currently there are two types of vaccine for chickenpox, one imported from Korea and the other from the US, and priced at over VND400,000 ($20) and over VND600,000 ($30), respectively.

Vice Chair of the Hanoi People's Committee, Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, has ordered the health sector to take immediate preventive measures against chickenpox.

For measles, Ngoc said that although the disease outbreak has been controlled and the number of new cases has been significantly reduced, the health sector must not be complacent. On May 12 and 15 the city will hold free vaccinations against measles for children under 10 years of age.

On the issue of foot and mouth disease, she asked the health sector to collaborate with educational institutions to prevent the outbreak of the disease, particularly at kindergartens.

In HCM City, while measles has shown no sign of cooling down, the prevalence of foot and mouth disease has been on the upswing.

So far this year, there were more than 2,000 cases of foot and mouth disease in HCM City. A number of chickenpox cases has also appeared.

Dr. Le Phan Kim Thoa, from Children’s Hospital No. 1, said that as measles and foot and mouth disease have appeared at the same time, hospitals in the city are under heavy pressure.

Le Ha