What has Ho Chi Minh City done to control the measles outbreak?

(PLVN) - Currently, 22 wards and communes in Ho Chi Minh City are eligible to issue decisions declaring the measles epidemic over. Although the measles epidemic is coming to an end, the city continues to maintain disease surveillance.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health , from week 2 of 2025 to the present, the number of weekly measles cases in the city has shown a rapid decrease across all age groups. As of week 12 of 2025, 50 wards and communes in 13 districts and Thu Duc City have not recorded any new measles cases for three consecutive weeks or more. The number of measles cases citywide has shown a clear downward trend compared to the peak period, indicating that the epidemic is entering its final phase.

The Department of Health has completed the dossier assessment process and reported to the City People's Committee to declare the measles epidemic over in 22 eligible wards and communes (specifically, no new cases recorded for 21 consecutive days and all epidemic prevention and control measures have been fully implemented as prescribed).

What has Ho Chi Minh City done to effectively combat the measles outbreak?

To achieve this result, the city implemented many decisive and coordinated measures, with the measles vaccination campaign playing a key role. From the beginning of 2024, Ho Chi Minh City proactively implemented measles prevention and control measures when the vaccine supply was disrupted. The Department of Health issued a plan for catch-up measles vaccinations and directed the HCDC to strengthen disease surveillance.

On May 23, 2024, the first measles case was detected after more than two years without any recorded cases in the city, after which the number of cases began to gradually increase. Alongside monitoring the emergence and circulation of the measles virus, the Department of Health directed the HCDC to coordinate with Children's Hospital 1 and the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) to utilize samples stored in the serum bank to assess community immunity.

The results showed that only 86% of children aged 9 months to under 5 years had antibodies against measles, while an immunity rate of over 95% is needed to protect the community from measles. Using the measles risk assessment tool, the results indicated that Ho Chi Minh City has a very high risk of a measles outbreak.

In June 2024, assessing the risk of a measles outbreak as very high, the Department of Health advised the People's Committee to declare a measles epidemic in August 2024. Immediately afterward, a strong measles vaccination campaign was launched.

As of March 23, 2025, the measles vaccination campaign had administered 280,244 doses throughout the city. Of these, the vaccination rate for children aged 1 to 5 years reached 100%, and for children aged 6 to 10 years reached 99.51% of the surveyed children. The vaccination campaign has contributed to controlling the measles outbreak in the city.

Besides community-based disease prevention and control activities, the Department of Health has also paid close attention to and provided thorough guidance on care and treatment. Since the beginning of the outbreak, city hospitals have received 8,087 measles cases from districts and 12,226 measles cases from other provinces...

Efforts in treatment have contributed to controlling the number of severe cases and deaths from measles. Of the city's total of 8087 cases, 151 required respiratory support, accounting for 1.6%; the number of deaths was 7 (5 in 2024 and 2 in 2025), accounting for 0.8/1000. All deaths were among children with congenital or severe underlying conditions who had not been vaccinated previously.

Continue monitoring after the measles outbreak is declared over.

The Department of Health stated that, after declaring the epidemic over, the city will continue to maintain surveillance activities and early detection of suspected cases in the community and schools to promptly handle and prevent the risk of a resurgence of the epidemic.

In addition, communication efforts have been intensified to raise public awareness of the benefits of vaccination, encouraging parents to take their children for vaccinations on schedule and maintain hygiene measures to prevent disease.

The Ho Chi Minh City health sector advises people not to be complacent or negligent in measles prevention. To effectively prevent measles, people need to proactively take their children for full vaccination according to the expanded immunization schedule, wash hands frequently with soap and water, cover their mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing, eat a balanced diet, improve their physical fitness, and maintain a clean living environment.

Minh Trang

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/tp-hcm-da-lam-gi-de-kiem-soat-dich-soi-post543624.html