No deaths due to hand, foot and mouth disease

On June 23, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Lien Huong - Deputy Minister of Health held an online meeting on dengue fever and hand, foot and mouth disease prevention with 20 southern provinces.

According to reports from Binh Duong , Dong Nai, Long An provinces..., the rate of cases per 100,000 people is higher than last year and compared to the average of the past 5 years. These are also provinces with a high rate of severe cases.

create conditions for transfer to avoid deaths due to hand, foot and mouth disease image 1 — Hand, foot and mouth disease is occurring in many provinces, including serious cases that have resulted in death (photo source: Ministry of Health ).

50% of adults with the disease have no symptoms and can easily pass it on to children.

Reporting to the Deputy Minister of Health, Associate Professor, Dr. Tang Chi Thuong - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that hand, foot and mouth disease is recording more than 2,000 new cases in the Southern region, an increase of 23% compared to the same period last year. Of which, there have been 5 deaths confirmed due to the Enterovirus 71 (EV71) strain, 2 other deaths.

Mr. Tang Chi Thuong said that the current statistics are based on the number of severe cases hospitalized, while the number of mild cases that have not been counted could be much higher.

Of these, the number of cases of hand, foot and mouth disease with EV71 strain is dominant. In particular, the classification of hand, foot and mouth disease has not been clearly reported, 81% of cases in Ho Chi Minh City have not been clinically classified, affecting clinical assessment and determining disease trends.

In addition, Associate Professor, Dr. Tang Chi Thuong also said that 50% of adults have the disease but have no symptoms, this is an important source of infection, but because there are no symptoms, it is very easy to spread to children.

Many other cases also have the disease but the symptoms are not clear. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to early diagnosis and early hospitalization to prevent complications and death.

Similarly, dengue fever is also in its early season. The southern region has recorded about 25,000 cases of dengue fever, down 39% compared to the same period last year, down 47% compared to 2019, and deaths have also decreased compared to the same period last year.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tang Chi Thuong said that the rate of severe cases in the total number of cases is still very high. If not prevented carefully, it can easily lead to the possibility of an outbreak, overloading medical facilities.

"We have entered the rainy season, so we must fight the epidemic right now to reduce the prevalence of dengue virus, reduce infected cases and severe cases," Mr. Thuong emphasized.

As for Dong Thap, according to the provincial Center for Disease Control (CDC), dengue fever and hand, foot and mouth disease are also developing complicatedly. Dong Thap has recorded 1,447 cases of dengue fever since the beginning of the year, including 82 severe cases and 1 death.

As for hand, foot and mouth disease, as of week 24, Dong Thap had 902 cases, of which 68% were in children under 3 years old, and there was just 1 death.

Dong Nai also recorded 1,694 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, down 56.37% compared to the same period in 2022 (3,883 cases). No deaths were recorded. However, the number of cases has tended to increase since the beginning of March, especially since May, with 200-300 hospitalizations per week.

Previously, the Ministry had issued specific guidance documents, and funds for purchasing medical equipment and treatment drugs had also been allocated to localities.

The Deputy Minister requested that provinces and localities urgently issue plans to prevent and control the epidemic. Once the plan is available, if it has not been approved or is being submitted for approval, it is recommended that the Provincial People's Committee urgently approve the budget for implementation.

Provinces and cities need to strengthen monitoring, focus on handling to ensure quality, analyze the epidemic situation, and have timely solutions, depending on the situation and locality.

The Deputy Minister of Health requested that medical facilities must organize treatment and triage teams; higher-level health facilities must strengthen training, closely monitor, and implement cross-infection prevention in medical facilities. Early detection of epidemics, communication in the community and at schools to prevent epidemics.

Source