Japanese encephalitis on the top of the epidemic

July is the peak of Japanese encephalitis. From the beginning of the season until now, the National Hospital of Pediatrics recorded 46 cases, of which Hanoi was the most with 15 cases and one died.

The country has now recorded 325 cases of viral encephalitis in 31 provinces and cities, with 5 deaths. Estimates of Japanese encephalitis accounted for 10-15% of that.

According to the report of the National Hospital of Pediatrics, 46 cases of Japanese encephalitis originated from 18 provinces and cities in the North, most of them Hanoi and then Hai Duong. The main cases in children under 15, children under 1 year old account for about 15%.

Japanese encephalitis is a dangerous disease because of high mortality rates, about 10-20%.(Photo: Ha An)

Dr. Tran Dac Phu, Director of Preventive Medicine said that Japanese encephalitis is a dangerous disease, high mortality rate can be up to 10-20%.The disease occurs throughout the year but the season is in the summer months and peaks in June-August.

The most important and effective preventive measure is vaccination. However, if only one injection is given, there is no protective effect, the 2-point injection has a protective effect of over 80%. Full 3 shots, protection effect reaches 90-95% in about 3 years.

Therefore, according to Dr. Phu, children need to be vaccinated with 3 basic doses as follows: Nose is 1 year old; Nose 2 after 1 to 2 weeks; Nose 3 is 2 years from nose 2. Then repeat every 3-4 years until the child is over 15 years old.

For children over 5 years of age who have never had Japanese encephalitis vaccine, they should also inject 3 basic doses, in which the first shot should be given as soon as possible. Time to inject other nose is similar to above.

There is a certain proportion of side effects when vaccinated with Japanese encephalitis. In particular, pain and redness at the injection site, a few have a systemic reaction such as mild fever, headache, fatigue. The above side effects appear about a few hours after injection and usually go away after 1-2 days. In addition, there is an extremely small percentage (about 1 in 1 million injections) that can be stunned (anaphylactic shock) after injecting within a few hours, and should be taken immediately to the nearest medical facility for management. assist.

Japanese encephalitis is a mosquito-borne disease . Blood-sucking mosquitoes are infected with infected animals (usually from pigs), then burn people and transmit disease to humans. Therefore, in addition to vaccination, people need to pay attention to environmental hygiene, keep clean houses, clean stables so that mosquitoes do not have shelter and leave cattle sheds away from home. Sleep nets should not be used for children to play near animal sheds, especially in the early evening to prevent mosquito bites. Households often use common measures to dispel mosquitoes.

When signs of high fever and symptoms of central nervous system damage, take the child immediately to a medical facility for timely diagnosis and treatment.

On July 4, Hanoi will launch Japanese encephalitis vaccination for the remaining children who have not been vaccinated in the past two sessions. Currently the vaccine in the new expanded vaccination program applies to children from 1 to 5 years old, the group of children with the highest risk and complications.