Measles spreads in Hanoi, with dozens of kids affected per day A little girl with measles symptoms is being treated at Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi.Tuoi Tre Health authorities have warned that measles is spreading rapidly in Hanoi, with dozens of children with symptoms likely caused by measles hospitalized over the past several days.  These children, all suffering from scarlet fever likely caused by measles, were taken to Bach Mai Hospital, the Central Pediatrics Hospital, and Saint Paul Hospital. One of these patients is a 2-year-old girl, T.T.V, of Hai Ba Trung District, who was taken to Bach Mai four days ago with a high fever of 40 degree Celsius, rashes on her body, serious coughing, and conjunctivitis. After treatment, the girl is still suffering from rashes on her face, arm, and other places, her mother said yesterday. Staying in the same room with V was a 13-month-old baby with the same symptoms. The baby is from the same district, doctors said. The hospital has received many children with symptoms of measles over the past Tet holiday, said Dr. Nguyen Tien Dung, head of the pediatrics department of the hospital, adding that many of these children also suffer from pneumonia and conjunctivitis. The same situation has been seen at the Central Pediatrics Hospital and Saint Paul Hospital, where doctors also said such symptoms are characteristic of measles. Parents whose children are being treated at Bach Mai said their kids have yet to be vaccinated. Other localities also affected Ho Chi Minh City and northern Lao Cai, Son La, and Yen Bai provinces have also been affected by measles since early this year, according to the Preventive Health Department under the Ministry of Health.  The disease has recurred after two years without a case, the department said. In Yen Bai alone, measles has affected at least 99 children, mostly in Van Chan District. One of these children, a 3 year old, died on January 31. The other incidence of death from measles was that of a seven-month-old baby in Hanoi’s Dong Anh District a few days ago.    In Lao Cai, Son La, and Ho Chi Minh City, the respective numbers of children who have contracted measles are 117, 87, and 10. It is worth noting that even children who were vaccinated against measles have contracted the disease. Explaining the situation, Tran Dac Phu, head of the Preventive Health Department, said the vaccine only prevents 80-90 percent of vaccinated children from becoming infected with measles. Warning about ineffective vaccination Phu also noted that the vaccine against measles is very difficult to preserve, since it is very temperature-sensitive. The vaccine must be kept freeze-dried when unused and at 4-8 degrees Celsius when being prepared for use, and the already-prepared vaccine must not be left unused overnight, Phu said. “If the vaccine is kept at the wrong temperature, it will become ineffective after being injected in children although it will cause no complications post-vaccination.”  He also said that the vaccination against measles has yet to be given to 100 percent of children in remote and mountainous areas, and that the process of vaccination in such areas has yet to improve. TUOITRENEWS