Measles causes over 100 child deaths in Vietnam, continues to spread A reported 108 children in Vietnam have died due to measles and measles-related illness since the beginning of this year, as the disease continues to spread. The situation is worrying to healthcare workers and parents alike. In order to get a closer look at the spread of the disease, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam visited the Central Pediatrics Hospital on April 15.   A delegation led by deputy PM Vu Duc Dam visits measles patients at the Central Pediatrics Hospital Speaking at the meeting, an anonymous leader from the Ministry of Health (MoH)’s Preventive Medicine Department said that the country has reported a total of 108 child fatalities due to measles and measles-related illness since the beginning of this year. 103 of these were recorded at the Central Pediatrics Hospital, four other cases at Bach Mai Hospital and one at the National Hospital for Tropical Disease. The figures are much higher than the 25 fatalities previously reported by Dr. Tran Duc Phu, Deputy Director of the Preventive Medicine. Dr. Le Thanh Hai, Director of the Central Pediatrics Hospital said the hospital recorded 25 child fatalities directly caused by measles and 78 other children who died due to complications from the disease, including pneumonia, diarrhea, and cross infections with other diseases, since January 30. “The hospital received a record-high number of 1,200 children who needed treatment for measles since the beginning of the year,” Hai noted.   Measles patients at the Central Pediatrics Hospital He went on to say that, in order to serve such a large number of patients, they have had to mobilise all available resources, including using the workspace of some of the staff as well as some parts of the Herbal Medicine Ward for measles patients. Despite the effort, overcrowding remains a serious issue, forcing two to three patients to share one sickbed. Between 200 and 250 patients are in need of in-patient treatment at the hospital due to their critical condition. Overcrowding has also been recorded at many other major hospitals in Hanoi, including Bach Mai Hospital, Saint Paul Hospital and the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases. In some cases, three to four patients are forced to share a sickbed. Several patients must share a single respirator. Wards of Infectious Diseases have had to use respirators from other wards. Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam requested that leaders from the Department of Medical Checkups and Treatment as well as hospitals from the central to local level do their best to slow down the development of the disease and prevent cross-infections. “The MoH should consider announcing a measles epidemic if necessary,” he recommended. Also on April 15, the MoH’s Professionalism Council held a meeting to discuss a new measles treatment regimen to keep up with any new developments. As the majority of fatalities from the disease have been recorded in the North, the Minister of Heath has assigned the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology the job of coordinating with hospitals in the northern region and the HCM City Pasteur Institute to conduct an investigation into the causes of the outbreak. Many concerned parents have been looking into ways to prevent the infection of their children. Because of the belief that bathing with coriander seeds helps prevent the disease, the price of this product has gone up.   Parents trying to buy coriander seeds However, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Huong, former Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Herbal Medicines, said coriander seeds are only good for disease prevention. Once a child has been infected, bathing coriander will not help, but the child should drink water infused with coriander seeds. By Hong Hai, dtinews.vn