A boy is vaccinated in Hanoi's Hai Ba Trung District.(Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - As many as 271 cases of measleshave been reported in Hanoi since the beginning of this year, compared to just60 for all of last year.
According to the municipal Department of Health,the number of cases has increased weekly and most measles patients werechildren under five years old.
Most of the infected children have not beenvaccinated or did not receive full vaccinations.
In some cases, newborns under nine months oldwho were not old enough to get the measles vaccination caught the diseasebecause they did not receive proper measles antibodies from their mothers.
Director of the Hanoi Preventive MedicinesCentre Nguyen Nhat Cam said that the measles cases were found across alldistricts in the city, not localised in one area.
He said about 140,000-150,000 babies were bornin Hanoi yearly and about 5 percent of the newborns were not vaccinated.
Measles can spread easily, Cam said, warning parentsto have their children vaccinated properly.
Doctor Dang Nhat Quang from Saint Paul Hospitalsaid it was abnormal to see more children get measles during the summer as thepeak time for measles outbreaks is usually the transition period between winterand spring.-VNA
