5 recommendations from the Ministry of Health to prevent and control measles

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, from the beginning of 2025 to now, the whole country has recorded about 40,000 suspected measles cases, 5 deaths related to measles; the number of suspected measles cases recorded is highest in the Southern region (57%), Central region (19.2%), Northern region (15.1%) and Central Highlands (8.7%).

Measles in Vietnam is likely to continue to increase in the coming time, so people need to be extremely cautious about the risk of outbreaks. It is expected that the number of suspected measles rash fever cases will continue to be recorded nationwide. In particular, in high-risk areas such as mountainous provinces, where many ethnic minorities live, access to health services is limited and localities with low vaccination rates are the areas most susceptible to outbreaks.

Measles is the fastest spreading of all infectious diseases, transmitted through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes, and transmission can only be cut off when community immunity reaches at least 95%.

The disease can cause many dangerous complications such as otitis media, pneumonia, diarrhea, corneal ulcers, encephalitis, which can easily lead to death.

There is no specific treatment for measles, vaccination is an effective measure to prevent the disease. In addition, the Department of Disease Prevention (Ministry of Health) has issued the following 5 recommendations for people to prevent measles:

- Proactively take children from 9 months to 2 years old who have not been vaccinated or have not received 2 doses of measles vaccine to get fully vaccinated on schedule and other age groups (6 - 9 months, 1 - 10 years old) to participate in the measles vaccination campaign according to the instructions of the Ministry of Health.

- Do not let children get close to or come into contact with children suspected of having measles; wear masks in crowded places, and wash hands frequently with soap when caring for children.

- Keep your child's body, nose, throat, eyes and mouth clean every day; ensure nutrition and keep your child's body warm.

- Nursery schools, kindergartens, and schools with large numbers of children need to be kept clean, airy, and well-lit; toys, learning tools, and classrooms must be regularly disinfected with common disinfectants.

- When detecting signs of suspected measles (fever, cough, runny nose, rash), it is necessary to isolate the child early and take him/her to the nearest medical facility for timely examination and treatment advice.