Warning for pertussis outbreak in Cao Bang

Nearly a month ago, Duc Hanh commune, Bao Lam district, Cao Bang province has 49 people with typical clinical symptoms of pertussis, 4 out of 18 samples tested positive for the disease.

On August 18, Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health warned about the situation of whooping cough disease in Cao Bang. Accordingly, from July 22 to August 11, the health sector examined nearly 170 people who showed respiratory inflammation in 3 hamlets of Ca Dong, Ca Mieng and Ca Pep A in Duc Hanh commune, Bao Lam district; recorded 49 patients with typical clinical symptoms with pertussis . In particular, most of Ca Dong village has 34 people. Test results from the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (Hanoi) had 4 samples positive for pertussis among 18 samples.

The Ministry of Health has established a working group consisting of representatives from the Preventive Medicine Department, the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Central Children Hospital to check and support activities of surveillance, investigation and treatment of diseases. The mission asked the province to implement measures to thoroughly handle the outbreak, not to spread the disease on a large scale. The medical industry provides preventive treatment for more than 350 people living with patients.

In order to prevent pertussis, parents need to take their children with enough shots on schedule.(Artwork: NP).

The Ministry of Health also asked Cao Bang to develop a plan and organize vaccination for DPT for pertussis for all 2-4 year old children in Duc Hanh commune.

Whooping cough is an acute infectious disease caused by bacteria, transmitted through the respiratory tract. The disease is common mainly in children 1-6 years old, the younger the child, the more severe the disease. Symptoms: fever, severe coughing and prolonged coughing and wheezing, watery eyes, and nasal discharge, accompanied by white and very sticky sputum.

Whooping cough is still circulating in many countries around the world. In Vietnam, thanks to good practice of vaccination, the disease is only sporadic in remote areas where there is a low vaccination rate.

To proactively prevent disease, the Ministry of Health recommends that people implement the following measures:

1. Take your child to a full and on-site vaccination vaccination.
2. Make sure houses, kindergartens, and classrooms are clean, well-ventilated and well-lit.
3. Take personal hygiene measures for children such as covering their nose and mouth when sneezing.
4. Eat enough food, reasonable nutrition.
5. When signs of disease or suspected young whooping cough are present, they should be taken to a medical facility for examination, isolation and treatment.