A patient with monkeypox is under treatment in southern Đồng Nai Province. — Photo suckhoedoisong.vn

HCM CITY —  HCM City has recorded four more monkeypox infections, bringing the total number of cases to 13, the city’s Health Department has announced.

The patients are currently under quarantine and receiving treatment.

In an interview with Sức khỏe & Đời sống (Health & Life) online newspaper published on Monday regarding the possibility of monkeypox spreading in the community, Dr Trần Đắc Phu, a senior advisor for the Việt Nam Centre for Emergency Response to Public Health Events, emphasised the need to continue epidemiological investigations and monitor individuals who have had contact with those coming from outbreak areas.

"This is an important issue to assess the risk. We need to respond proportionally to the level of risk, so as not to lose control of the outbreak, but also not to overuse resources, as there are many other outbreaks such as dengue fever and hand-foot-and-mouth disease," he said.

Phu also noted the importance of continuing to strengthen border surveillance, monitoring individuals returning from outbreak areas, and community surveillance to identify patients and affected areas. Early detection of cases within the community plays a crucial role in zoning, isolating, and preventing the disease from further transmission.

Phu advised people to increase personal disease prevention measures.

"Monkeypox is not easily transmitted to everyone in the community. It is mainly a concern for certain groups at risk, such as men who have sex with men, bisexual individuals, those with multiple unprotected sexual partners, and those in close contact with suspected monkeypox cases. Therefore, those who have close contact with suspected monkeypox cases should seek diagnosis and self-isolate to prevent further transmission," he said.

The General Department of Preventive Medicine has sent documents to the Pasteur Institute of HCM City, the departments of health of HCM City, Bình Dương and Đồng Nai provinces, urging them to enhance monkeypox prevention and control measures.

The General Department of Preventive Medicine asked the departments of health of HCM City, and Đồng Nai and Bình Dương provinces to proactively investigate all cases with contact history with the confirmed monkeypox cases to identify the source of infection, manage outbreaks promptly, and prevent community transmission.

Efforts should be made to treat positive cases, avoid cross-infections, and protect healthcare workers during care and treatment. Various communication methods should be employed to inform the public about the disease situation and prevention measures to alleviate unnecessary concerns and anxieties.

Additionally, healthcare personnel at all levels should receive training on inspection, treatment, and prevention of monkeypox infections.

The department also requested the Pasteur Institute of HCM City to provide timely professional and technical support and guidelines to localities related to inspection, sample collection, diagnosis, and measures for monkeypox outbreaks.

Since the beginning of 2023, HCM City has also reported a total of 28,248 cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease. There are 318 cases currently under treatment in hospitals, with 317 of these cases being children under six years old (accounting for 99.6 per cent of the total cases).

Among these, 41 are severe cases, with 24 cases being treated at Children's Hospital No 1, three cases at Children's Hospital No 2, seven at Children's Hospital of HCM City, and seven at the Tropical Disease Hospital.

HCM City has also recorded 13,680 cases of dengue fever, with 174 cases currently under treatment in hospitals. Among these, 114 cases are adults, including three pregnant women, and 60 cases are children.

13 cases are severe, with three requiring mechanical ventilation.

Regarding red eye disease, approximately 900 cases came to hospitals for examination and treatment each day.

The city’s healthcare sector would continue to monitor and closely coordinate with health departments to oversee the disease situation in the city and be ready to respond to any emergency situations, it said. — VNS