According to municipal Department of Health Director Tang Chi Thuong, the city recorded over 7,800 new hand, foot and mouth cases by July 14, with 212 cases in critical condition.
A hand, foot and mouth patient in HCM City (photo by Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper)
Between June and the first two weeks of July, as many as 1,774 hand, foot and mouth patients were sent to hospitals in HCM City for treatment, with 21 percent from the city.
HCM City hospitals have seen six hand, foot and mouth deaths so far this year with all of them from other localities.
The HCM City Department of Health forecasted that local hospitals would receive more hand, foot and mouth cases in the coming weeks, with many from neighbouring localities.
Virus Enterovirus (EV71) is defined to be the main cause of the disease boom in the city.
The city’s health sector has instructed medical facilities to build scenarios on disease prevention and control and establish expert groups for disease treatment.
HCM City currently has 50-100 new patients hospitalised and 20-70 serious cases per day.
If patient numbers continue rising, HCM City would struggle with hand, foot and mouth medicine deficiency from late July. Specifically, the demand for intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) each day would increase from 80-150 bottles to around 200 bottles.
Local hospitals now have a total of just 2,400 bottles of this kind and won’t receive a new batch of IVIG until late August after it is imported into Vietnam.
To ease the overload for HCM City’s hospitals, the city’s Department of Health has asked the Ministry of Health to instruct hospitals in neighbouring localities such as Can Tho, Ca Mau and Dong Nai to actively receive hand, foot and mouth cases.
