Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has urged ministries and agencies to take bold measures to prevent a measles epidemic after 108 babies died of measles and cross infection. The dispatch was made after the disclosure of the deaths following a field trip on April 15 by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam to four national hospitals in Hanoi where the majority measles cases were recorded. Prior to Mr. Dam’s trip, the Ministry of Health (MoH) reported only 25 deaths. As of April 16, more than 7,000 babies and adults got measles, a disease that has spread to 61 out of 63 cities and provinces nationwide. Hanoi tops localities for the contracted and death cases but the city yet declares the outbreak. Local people are afraid of a worsening situation due to the surging contracted cases. The deaths are hundreds times as high as the victims of the measles epidemic in 2009-2010. Despite such worries, the MoH continues saying that it is managing the situation well. Doctor Nguyen Van Kinh, director of National Hospital of Tropical Diseases, said that the disease is likely to spread further due to the overload at central hospitals. (Lao Dong – Labor April 17 p1, Tien Phong – Pioneer April 17 p4, Tuoi Tre – Youth April 17 p1)
