Dr. Nguyen Van Binh, head of the Preventive Health Department in the Ministry of Health, announced yesterday the setting up of four inspection teams that will check and manage epidemic prevention in 12 major provinces and cities of the central and Southern regions.
The inspection teams will cooperate with Pasteur Institute and the Ho Chi Minh City Preventive Medicine Center.
According to the latest statistics, there are 21,200 reported cases of dengue fever with 21 reported deaths and 18,800 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease with 52 reported deaths across the country.
The infectious disease department of Children Hospital No.1 has reported 180 in-patients with hand-foot-mouth disease, 30 of whom are in serious condition and on ventilators. There was also one reported death in the southern province of An Giang.
Truong Huu Khanh, head of the above department said that the hospital admits approximately 80-90 new cases everyday, 50 percent of which are from other provinces. A similar situation prevails in Children Hospital No. 2.
According to Nguyen Dac Tho, director of HCMC Preventive Medicine Centre, in the first 6 months of 2011 there have been about 4,700 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease including 17 deaths. He also confirmed that the epidemic only petered off temporarily at the beginning of July. However, now more fresh outbreaks have re-occurred and medical workers battle to contain the disease.
