Experts fear new encephalitis cases
(18-05-2007)
HA NOI ? Health experts have warned of an increase of Japanese encephalitis cases this year and insist that children up to 15 years of age should be vaccinated.
According to Deputy Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Nguyen Ngoc Dinh, Japanese encephalitis occurs frequently to children aged between 1-15 years old.
"It?s an infectious viral disease that is passed by mosquitoes that bite diseased animals and then humans and can also be a complication of measles, chicken-pox or mumps," he says.
The summer climate in Viet Nam creates the ideal conditions for the growth of mosquitoes and insects and is the season for mosquito-born diseases including Japanese encephalitis. Commonly, outbreaks begin in May, peak in June and July and end in September, according to Dinh.
Doctor Nguyen Thu Yen says that Viet Nam has an incidence of 3-5 cases in every 100,000 every year which makes it a serious problem, since about 11,000 people die of the disease world-wide every year, according to World Health Organisation?s statistics.
In recent years, despite the fact that Japanese encephalitis has been part of the national expanded vaccination programme, the rate of affected people has increased because the numbers of vaccinated children only account for 50-60 per cent of children under 5 years old. It is essential to achieve 100 per cent immunisation of all children to 15 years of age. However, more money will be needed but is currently not available within the State budget, since it is not rated as a top priority infectious disease.
Health experts state that each child needs three vaccinations for full immunisation followed by booster injections every three years until the child is 15 years old. Professor Le Duc Hinh, a neurologist, says in some cases parents took children to hospital neurology departments for treatment when the patient had a high-temperature or a fit of convulsions. "If a child is affected by Japanese encephalitis, the disease can become extremely serious leading to death," he says.
According to Deputy Director Nguyen Ngoc Dinh, the institute is setting up a disease prevention programme in Viet Nam in which the numbers of children and areas to be vaccinated free of cost will be increased. A pilot scheme will be tested in a selected province this year. The institute will examine the results and then submit the project to the Ministry of Health for funding.
In addition to immunisation the surrounding environment needs to be kept clean and regularly disinfected using the standard methods of mosquito control and prevention including cleaning sewage systems, covering water tanks securely in rural areas, disposing of stagnant water and their containers, hanging mosquito-nets and spraying. ? VNS
(18-05-2007)
HA NOI ? Health experts have warned of an increase of Japanese encephalitis cases this year and insist that children up to 15 years of age should be vaccinated.
According to Deputy Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Nguyen Ngoc Dinh, Japanese encephalitis occurs frequently to children aged between 1-15 years old.
"It?s an infectious viral disease that is passed by mosquitoes that bite diseased animals and then humans and can also be a complication of measles, chicken-pox or mumps," he says.
The summer climate in Viet Nam creates the ideal conditions for the growth of mosquitoes and insects and is the season for mosquito-born diseases including Japanese encephalitis. Commonly, outbreaks begin in May, peak in June and July and end in September, according to Dinh.
Doctor Nguyen Thu Yen says that Viet Nam has an incidence of 3-5 cases in every 100,000 every year which makes it a serious problem, since about 11,000 people die of the disease world-wide every year, according to World Health Organisation?s statistics.
In recent years, despite the fact that Japanese encephalitis has been part of the national expanded vaccination programme, the rate of affected people has increased because the numbers of vaccinated children only account for 50-60 per cent of children under 5 years old. It is essential to achieve 100 per cent immunisation of all children to 15 years of age. However, more money will be needed but is currently not available within the State budget, since it is not rated as a top priority infectious disease.
Health experts state that each child needs three vaccinations for full immunisation followed by booster injections every three years until the child is 15 years old. Professor Le Duc Hinh, a neurologist, says in some cases parents took children to hospital neurology departments for treatment when the patient had a high-temperature or a fit of convulsions. "If a child is affected by Japanese encephalitis, the disease can become extremely serious leading to death," he says.
According to Deputy Director Nguyen Ngoc Dinh, the institute is setting up a disease prevention programme in Viet Nam in which the numbers of children and areas to be vaccinated free of cost will be increased. A pilot scheme will be tested in a selected province this year. The institute will examine the results and then submit the project to the Ministry of Health for funding.
In addition to immunisation the surrounding environment needs to be kept clean and regularly disinfected using the standard methods of mosquito control and prevention including cleaning sewage systems, covering water tanks securely in rural areas, disposing of stagnant water and their containers, hanging mosquito-nets and spraying. ? VNS