HCM City sets up 12 rapid response teams to tackle measles outbreaks in schools

A health worker administers a measles vaccine to a child in HCM City’s District 8. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — HCM City health sector has established 12 rapid response teams to address measles outbreaks in schools amid rising cases and slow vaccination coverage among children.

Speaking at a meeting on Saturday, Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh Châu, deputy director of the city Health Department, said each team comprises two to three members from the local disease control centre and one representative from various children’s hospitals.

The teams will be responsible for monitoring outbreaks, implementing necessary response measures and providing guidance to schools and local health stations regarding preventive actions.

In instances where a measles case is suspected, school health personnel are required to inform the local health station.

The head of the station will evaluate the situation and coordinate an appropriate response, activating the rapid response team if an outbreak is confirmed.

The formation of the response teams follows reports of measles outbreaks in five elementary schools across four districts shortly after the commencement of the new academic year.

Experts have cautioned that additional outbreaks are possible.

Lê Hồng Nga, deputy director of HCM City Centre for Disease Control (HCDC), said local schools have been facing measles outbreaks since the beginning of the new academic year.

“The majority of the affected students had not received the full dosage of the measles vaccine,” she said.

The city has officially declared a measles outbreak, prompting authorities to assess vaccination coverage.

Despite a vaccination campaign that began on August 31, only 16,900 of the 200,000 children aged one to five in the city have been vaccinated.

Currently, 74 per cent of measles cases involve unvaccinated children. The city has had nearly 600 cases of measles this year, including three deaths.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease that can spread rapidly following an incubation period of seven to 21 days.

Medical experts caution in addition to it possibly leading to death, it can lead to serious complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis, otitis media, keratitis and diarrhoea.

Measles can only be effectively managed when the community immunity rate reaches 95 per cent and each individual has received two doses of a vaccine. — VNS