Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Phu said vaccine-preventable diseasesare scattered in areas which record a low rate of vaccination and limitedpublic awareness of environmental and personal hygiene.
This year, the medical sector willstrengthen monitoring systems in border areas, medical stations and thecommunity to promptly discover and treat infections, and closely oversee influenza,dengue, foot-and-mouth, Japanese encephalitis and Zika cases.
The ministry will continue buildingemergency operations centres in several provinces, evaluating several newinfectious diseases, and consolidating quick-response teams in all channels.
It will also embark on a project toimprove the capacity of testing communicable diseases for 2016-2020, as well asenhance the inoculation rate to at least 95 percent of the district’s level.
According to the department, therewere 110,876 dengue cases nationwide last year, including 36 fatalities, up 19percent and down 18 cases, respectively, year-on-year.
More than 45,000 people were infectedwith foot and mouth disease, down 19.3 percent, including one fatality comparedto six recorded in 2015.
Zika infection amounted to 219 caseslast year and 13 this year, mostly in southern metropolis Ho Chi Minh City anda suspected microcephalic case in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.
Nguyen Duc Tien from the HealthMinistry’s Agency of Health Examination and Treatment said the agency has workedto reduce potential fatalities, including ensuring a sufficient medical staffto offer treatment to dengue patients, offering intensive training andstrengthening consultation on difficult cases.
This year, it will continue promotingdengue treatment in the south by offering more training courses and launching asupervision system.-VNA
VNA
