Health ministry issues warning amid global measles outbreaks

While there is no recorded measles hotspot in Vietnam at the moment, the number of measles cases in Europe was over 300,000 in 2023, a 30-fold increase compared to 2022. In the West Pacific, the number of measles cases increased by 255% from 2022 to 2023.

The impacts of the recent pandemic have also disrupted vaccine supply chains, which in turn affects vaccination rates among children across the country.

"Many children not being vaccinated on schedule, or fully vaccinated in recent years, is a factor that may trigger outbreaks, including measles," a representative of the Ministry of Health said.

As such, the ministry has requested localities to increase its monitoring to detect measles cases early and resolve outbreaks as soon as possible. Vaccination programs must be continued, including vaccination against measles for small children.

Measles is a highly contagious disease that mainly affects children below 5. Since 2000, vaccination has prevented 50 million deaths.