Doctors at Hanoi-based Central Pediatrics Hospital have urged the Ministry of Health to announce a measles outbreak after the disease spread to 59 out of Vietnam’s 63 cities and provinces and claimed 25 lives, but the ministry has refused. Up to 3,380 patients have been tested positive with the measles virus since early 2014 and clinical examinations show that about 28% of the fatalities were babies of less than nine months who did not receive measles vaccination shots as recommended.
Another 68.3% of the reported incidences involved children under the age of ten, most of whom had not received inoculation against measles. Measles is a benign disease but it can cause rapid immunodeficiency, leading to other diseases including pneumonia and diarrhea, which can be very serious and even cause death. In order to combat the spread of measles, all children who have yet to be vaccinated must be offered vaccinations.
In Vietnam, children receive the first anti-measles vaccination when they are nine months old and the second shot when they are 18 months old. The first shot offers the child an 85% protection rate, while the second shot boosts this rate to 95%-99%. However, the measles vaccination rate is now low as a result of parents’ fears caused by recent infant fatalities allegedly linked to popular vaccine Quinvaxem. (infonet.vn Apr 9)