Controlling measles outbreak, still difficult due to low vaccination?

Vaccination rates fall short of expectations

Statistics from the health sector show that from the beginning of 2024 to now, the whole country has recorded more than 2.000 cases of measles, of which more than 500 cases were recorded in Ho Chi Minh City.

Vaccination is an effective measure to prevent measles. Photo: Chi Cuong

Mr. Nguyen Hong Tam, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control, said that in the period from 2021 to 2023, the city only recorded 1 case of measles, and from the beginning of 2024 to May 22, the city recorded no measles cases.

However, from May 23 to September 5, the city recorded 4 cases of measles, 9 deaths including 541 cases with addresses in the city and 3 child in the province, the children who died from measles all had congenital underlying diseases.

Notably, 74% of children with measles have not been vaccinated against measles even though they are old enough. The districts with the highest number of children with measles are Binh Chanh district with 136 cases, Binh Tan district with 123 cases, Hoc Mon district with 41 cases, Thu Duc city with 33 cases...

It is noted that after 5 days of implementing the Measles Vaccination Campaign for Children in Ho Chi Minh City, the vaccination rate is still quite low.

More worryingly, the actual number of children screened is much lower than the number of children listed in the National Immunization System. This raises concerns that there are still many gaps in the actual vaccination coverage rate in the community.

According to the report of the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC), before the new school year started, the city recorded 541 measles cases, including 3 deaths.

Notably, the number of new measles cases is increasing rapidly every day, especially in children aged 9 months to 5 years (accounting for 48%) and 74% of infected children have not been fully vaccinated. Currently, the number of measles cases has appeared in 22 districts and Thu Duc City, with Binh Chanh and Binh Tan districts having the highest number of measles cases.

The locality with the highest number of injections is Binh Chanh district at 59,3%, the lowest is Can Gio district at only 9,3%. Of the 22 districts, towns and cities, up to 18 units have not reached the 50% vaccination rate.

Để đẩy nhanh Chiến dịch, HCDC yêu cầu các địa phương tích cực mời trẻ đã được lập danh sách đến các trạm medical để tiêm chủng.

Last time, Minister of Health đã đánh giá nguy cơ dịch theo bộ công cụ do Tổ chức Y tế world cung cấp và xác định 18 tỉnh, thành phố sẽ tiến hành tiêm vắc-xin phòng sởi – rubella miễn phí cho các đối tượng.

The plan to implement the measles vaccination campaign in 2024 will take place in 18 provinces and cities with 135 districts in the three regions of the North, Central and South; of which the North has 3 districts, the Central region has 17 districts, and the remaining 17 districts are in the South.

Accordingly, the general goal of the Plan is to increase the rate of measles immunity in the community to proactively prevent epidemics, reduce the incidence and mortality rate due to measles in risk areas, areas with measles cases and measles epidemics.

The specific goal of the campaign is that 95% of children in the vaccination target group who have not received enough doses of vaccine as prescribed in risk areas and areas with measles cases/epidemics are vaccinated with 1 dose of measles-rubella vaccine.

Increase vaccination rate to control the epidemic

Associate Professor, Dr. Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, hopes that the Department of Education and Training will coordinate with the Department of Health to urgently and effectively carry out the additional measles vaccination campaign for children.

During the recent holidays, the city's health sector launched a measles vaccination campaign for children, but the number is still low. "We are very worried that during the recent holidays, the Health Department launched a campaign to inform people to vaccinate nearly 20.000 children, but the number is very low compared to the number of children reported," Mr. Thuong informed.

The head of the city's health sector hopes that in order to better prevent the epidemic and increase the number of children fully vaccinated against measles, homeroom teachers need to remind parents to take their children to medical facilities for vaccination according to the health sector's recommendations.

According to Dr. Nguyen Vu Thuong, Deputy Director of the Pasteur Institute, there are currently 6 prominent suburban districts with measles cases accounting for 73% of the total number of measles cases in the city, including: Binh Chanh, Binh Tan, Hoc Mon, District 12, District 7 and Thu Duc City. This shows that it is necessary to prioritize focusing resources on solving these hot spots, where there is high population mobility, to limit the spread of measles.

Because of the measles vaccination mechanism according to the World Health Organization (WHO), people who come into contact with a measles case and are vaccinated within three days are less likely to get measles. If they get measles, the disease will be milder and have fewer complications or mild symptoms and will be less likely to spread the disease to others.

“Our monitoring in a southern commune where a measles outbreak occurred showed that 40% of the children were temporary residents. Of these, only one-third had received one dose of measles vaccine. This shows that children who move around are at high risk of contracting measles,” said Mr. Thuong.

According to Mr. Thuong, it is important to urgently screen all groups of displaced people to vaccinate them against the disease. The motto of "going to every alley, knocking on every door, screening every subject" is the task of local authorities, including medical collaborators and others, to do a good job of vaccination.

Mr. Nguyen Vu Thuong suggested prioritizing districts that are hotspots and at high risk of measles outbreaks to focus on vaccination first to prevent the epidemic from spreading strongly.

As for schools, now that students have returned to school, the school disease surveillance system needs to be on high alert. Schools with children infected with measles need to prioritize vaccination to prevent the spread to families and the community.

In addition, it is necessary to communicate to people about the side effects of measles vaccine, how to handle side effects when children experience them so that parents can feel secure in vaccinating their children as well as promptly handle rare cases of side effects.

Reducing the spread of measles through vaccines

Medical experts say that measles is considered a global threat because the measles virus of the Paramyxoviridae family can spread quickly through the respiratory tract from sick people to healthy people in the community or even across borders.

Measles is dangerous because it not only causes acute symptoms but also puts patients at risk of nervous system infection, movement disorders, damage to multiple organs in the body, and can leave many complications. Severe, long-lasting and even lifelong symptoms for patients such as encephalitis, meningitis, otitis media, pneumonia, diarrhea, corneal ulcers, blindness...

In addition, measles is especially dangerous because it has the ability to erase immune memory, destroying an average of about 40 types of antibodies that can fight against pathogens.

In children, a study by geneticist Stephen Elledge at Harvard University in 2019 showed that measles eliminated from 11% to 73% of protective antibodies in children.

That is, when infected with measles, the patient's immune system will be destroyed and restored to its original state, which is immature and incomplete like a newly born child.

To minimize risks and prevent measles from returning, WHO emphasizes that vaccination is the only way to protect children and adults from this potentially dangerous disease. Countries around the world are required to achieve and maintain coverage rates above 95% with 2 doses of measles vaccine.

Doctor Bui Thi Viet Hoa, Safpo/Potec vaccination system, said that children and adults need to proactively get the measles vaccine fully and on schedule to help the body produce specific antibodies to the measles virus. Helps prevent the risk of measles and serious complications, with outstanding effectiveness of up to 98%.

Besides, according to doctor Viet Hoa, each person needs to proactively clean their eyes, nose, and throat with antiseptic water every day. Limit gatherings in crowded places, avoid close contact with people showing signs of measles or suspected of having the disease, and do not share personal items with people who are sick. Keeping the living space clean and supplementing food helps strengthen the immune system.

If you see symptoms of measles (fever, runny nose, dry cough, red eyes, sensitivity to light, rash all over the body), you should quickly go to the nearest medical center or facility for treatment. be examined and treated promptly.