Call for health centres to fight hand, foot and mouth disease

VnnNews – HCM City’s Health Department has called for preventive health centres in all districts of HCM City to combat a recent rise in hand, foot and mouth disease.

As of September there were 466 children reported with hand, foot and mouth disease, an increase of 62 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Le Truong Giang, deputy head of the department, told a meeting of city health officials yesterday, October 15, that the disease had risen significantly across the city because efforts had focused on the A/H1N1 pandemic.

The department and leaders of preventive health centres at various districts discussed citywide epidemics of hand, foot and mouth disease, dengue fever and A/H1N1 flu at the meeting.

As of September there were 466 children reported with hand, foot and mouth disease, an increase of 62 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to Deputy Director of the city’s Preventive Health Centre Nguyen Dac Tho.

The city has had 2,080 cases of the disease with five fatalities during the first nine months of the year, Tho said.

He asked health officials working at district-level health centres to check schools and kindergartens across the city to prevent outbreaks.

Meanwhile, the city saw a decline in the number of people infected with dengue fever due to a decrease in mosquito density, Tho added.

There were 9,396 people infected with dengue fever during the first nine months of the year, a decline of 2.5 per cent compared to the same period last year. There have been 10 fatalities reported this year so far in the city.

The disease is still prevalent in some outlying districts, including Thu Duc, Nha Be, Binh Chanh, Binh Tan, Tan Binh and Hoc Mon despite a large a0mount of chemical spraying to kill mosquito larvae. The disease in HCM City is expected to peak next month.

Le Thanh Hai, director of the city’s Preventive Health Centre, said outlying districts were usually worst hit by epidemics because of the high number of lodging houses, poor living conditions and environmental problems.

Hai also said ineffective chemical spraying was to blame for a failure to protect residents. For example, nearly 1,000 litres of chemicals was sprayed in Thu Duc district but it was worst hit by the disease.

The number of A/ H1N1 flu cases has dropped, but continues at some spots in the city. Supervision will be tightened at lodging houses and schools, while tests for the flu will be carried out at the city’s Preventive Health Centre.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

 

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