Measles Control in Viet Nam

Ha Noi, 25 April 2014 - Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy watches over her two year old son as he takes quick, short breaths in a quarantined intensive care unit (ICU) at Hanoi's National Paediatric Hospital. Like the 40 other children in the unit, Thuy's son has a severe measles infection.

Since the beginning of 2014, Viet Nam has reported more than 3,500 confirmed measles infections. More than 86% of those infected have not been immunized or their vaccination status is unknown.
In Hanoi, the National Paediatric Hospital has treated more than 1,280 measles patients and over 100 children have died from measles related complications. Among those who died, half of the children were less than nine months old.

Many children who come for treatment at the National Paediatric Hospital have underlying health conditions such as congenital heart disease, metabolic disorder and congenital anomalies.
Photo: UN Viet Nam\2014\Truong Viet Hung

The power of vaccines

The first "vaccine" a child receives, breast milk, is free and massively reduces the chances of illness. (c)UNICEF Viet Nam\2007\Doan Bao

This week more than 180 countries are celebrating World Immunization Week.  Vaccines are a life-saving and cost effective public health intervention we often take for granted. They provide immunity against various illnesses causing death and disability that a whole new generation is lucky enough not to remember. Vaccines helped eradicate smallpox in 1977 and are on their way to eradicating polio and eliminating neonatal tetanus and measles. Newer vaccines protect against some types of pneumonia and diarrhoea (the two biggest disease-specific killers of children) and various cancers.

A fully immunized child is more likely to attend school, have greater cognitive abilities, and be a more productive member of society and less likely to be disabled.