Proactively prevent diseases for children in the first year of life

In the first year of life, children are susceptible to infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, tuberculosis, meningitis, flu... if not vaccinated.

Dr. Bach Thi Chinh, Medical Director of the VNVC Vaccination System, said that from the moment of birth, although the immune system is still weak, children have faced many viruses and bacteria, so the risk of infection is high. At this time, children need to be vaccinated to have immunity against many diseases. However, some parents are not really interested in preventing infectious viruses for their children, leading to children contracting diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis B, meningococcal meningitis, etc.

For example, Ms. Thuy Van (a single mother, 30 years old, from Dong Nai ) has a first child with neonatal tuberculosis. She said she always felt regretful for taking it lightly and skipping vaccination for her child when he was born. She explained that she gave birth to a daughter in 2020, gave birth without her husband by her side, and was in an unstable mood so she did not pay attention to vaccinating her child against tuberculosis.

When the baby was 4 months old, she had a dry cough and was not gaining weight, so she took her to a local clinic and was diagnosed with a respiratory infection. After that, the baby continued to cough a lot and had convulsions, so she had to be transferred to a higher-level hospital for treatment. The doctor diagnosed her with tuberculosis, but fortunately it was not life-threatening, and the treatment lasted 6 months. The baby's health is now stable.

It is estimated that 1/4 of the world's population is infected with TB, about 10% of which will progress to TB disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report in 2022, there are about 9 million new TB cases worldwide each year, of which 10% are children.

Parents bring their children to get vaccinated at the VNVC Hoang Van Thu vaccination center in Phu Nhuan district. Photo: Moc Thao

Vietnam remains one of the 30 countries with the highest burden of tuberculosis and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in the world . The National Children's Hospital annually detects and treats about 70-80 cases of tuberculosis, mainly severe and difficult-to-diagnose cases. Most cases are in children under 5 years old and the disease occurs within 2 years of exposure to the source of the disease.

Hepatitis B is also one of the two types of viral hepatitis with the greatest burden on public health and is the leading cause of liver cancer and cirrhosis, causing up to 80% of all liver cancer cases worldwide.

Vietnam is located in an area with high prevalence of hepatitis B virus. According to statistics from the Ministry of Health in 2019, 10-20% of pregnant women in Vietnam have hepatitis B. The rate of mothers transmitting hepatitis B to their children is from 5-10%, of which 90% of children develop chronic hepatitis B.

In addition, children are also at risk of other diseases such as influenza and meningococcal meningitis if they have not been vaccinated. According to WHO, about 5-10% of adults and 20-30% of children worldwide are infected with influenza each year. Of these, about half a million people die from health problems related to influenza. In Vietnam, about 1-1.8 million people are infected with influenza each year.

Influenza can resolve on its own, but it can also cause complications in people with chronic diseases or immunodeficiencies such as children under 5 years old. Complications include ear infections, bronchitis, pneumonia, encephalitis, and can even lead to death.

Meningococcal meningitis is transmitted from person to person through the respiratory tract. It is estimated that about 10-20% of the population carries meningococcal bacteria in the throat without showing symptoms, which is a major source of infection in the community. Each year, the country records about 50-100 cases of meningococcal meningitis. Although the number of cases is small, the disease leaves serious sequelae such as deafness, amputation, or neurological and motor disabilities...

According to Dr. Chinh, the younger the child is when they get sick, the higher the risk of serious complications. If they contract infectious diseases in the first months of life but do not receive timely treatment, the child may suffer lifelong consequences, affecting their intellectual and physical development and even death.

"The cost of vaccination is much lower than the cost of treatment and medical care if a child unfortunately gets sick. Therefore, everyone should fully vaccinate their children as soon as possible," Dr. Chinh recommended.

For newborns whose mothers are infected with hepatitis B virus, in addition to a dose of hepatitis B vaccine like other children, the baby needs to be injected with an antibody (anti-hepatitis B serum) HBIg (Hepatitis B Immune Globulin) within the first 12-24 hours after birth.

Tuberculosis vaccine (BCG) newborn dose, best injected within the first month after birth. According to recommendations of WHO, CDC US and Vietnam Ministry of Health, children 6 months and older need to be vaccinated with influenza vaccine early and get a booster shot every year for best protection.

Currently, the meningococcal and influenza vaccines are service vaccines and have not been included in the expanded immunization program. For meningococcal vaccines, children are also recommended to be vaccinated from 6 months of age. In addition, children can be vaccinated with vaccines that prevent many diseases in one injection, such as the 6-in-1 vaccine against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, hepatitis B and diseases caused by Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) such as pneumonia and purulent meningitis.

Minh Tam

At 8:00 p.m. on June 16, the VNVC Vaccination Center System will conduct an online consultation program "Important vaccines for children in the first year of life", broadcast on the fanpage VnExpress , VNVC, Tam Anh General Hospital, Nutrihome... The program aims to update new information on infectious diseases in young children and preventive vaccines.

Consulting experts include: Dr. Truong Huu Khanh - Vice President of the Infectious Diseases Association, Ho Chi Minh City, Dr. Bach Thi Chinh - Medical Director of VNVC Vaccination System, Dr. Phan Thi Thu Minh - Deputy Head of Pediatrics Department, Tam Anh General Hospital, Hanoi.

Interested readers can ask questions here.

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/chu-dong-phong-benh-cho-tre-trong-nam-dau-doi-4617656.html