Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen The Thao on April 18 urged the municipal authorities to take drastic measures to contain measles outbreak, which have so far killed 25 people, mostly under-10-year-old children. The nation has to date recorded over 7,000 cases of the disease, one-third in the capital. Measles erupted in 61 out of the 63 cities and provinces in the first quarter of this year. The number of fatalities from complications has amounted to 108. In Hanoi, 459 patients are hospitalized for the disease. To reduce fatalities, Thao urged the health department to carry out measures to isolate measles patients from others and avoid their concentration at municipal and central hospitals. The Hanoi Preventive Medicine Centre has to work with district authorities and health workers to prevent the disease from spreading, the chairman said. He also asked families to proactively have their children vaccinated. The Ministry of Public Health recently decided to provide 12 medical ventilators for three hospitals in Hanoi in the face of measles outbreak. (Vietnam News April 18)
