Measles-related death toll rises to 108 in only Vietnam's 3 large hospitals

A total of 108 deaths have been caused so far this year by measles and its related complications among Vietnamese children in only three large hospitals in capital Hanoi, instead of 25 deaths as in earlier report by Vietnam's Ministry of Health (MoH), local media reported on Wednesday. Tran Dac Phu, head of General Department of Preventive Medicine late Tuesday released the figure at a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vo Duc Dam, who was in a study tour in Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics (NHP). Tuoi Tre (Youth) online newspaper on Wednesday quoted Phu as saying that, among measles-related deaths reported in Vietnam as of April 15, some 103 were in NHP, four in Bach Mai hospital and the last one in National Hospital of Tropical Diseases. The death toll is not included measles deaths in other Vietnam' s localities, said Phu. Le Thanh Hai, director of NHP said at the meeting that 25 kids died at his hospital directly due to measles and 78 other deaths resulted from measles complications such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and co-infection with other diseases. The NHP has hit a record high of kid patients due to measles with 1,200 cases hospitalized since the beginning of 2014, said Hai. Earlier on Monday, while answering reporter's question over public suspects on the real measles dead cases so far, Phu reaffirmed that the MoH was reported with 25 deaths because of measles and its complications. Speaking at the meeting in NHP late Tuesday, Vietnamese deputy Prime Minister Vo Duc Dam ordered MoH and hospitals from central to local levels to strive to prevent cross-infection by measles and other diseases at any means. Vietnamese healthcare system was urged to find out solutions to control and limit the disease from spreading, said the deputy prime minister, adding that the MoH should announce the epidemic if necessary.