HÀ NỘI – Hà Nội-based Bạch Mai Hospital said it has received a measles patient developing encephalitis-meningitis, the first case of the rare complication this year.

The 28-year-old patient was hospitalised at Hồng Ngọc Hospital on February 8. The patient developed a rash over his body after three days of high flu and tested positive for measles.

After three days of treatment, the patient suffered disorders in sense of direction and urinary retention, was diagnosed with measles encephalitis and then transferred to Bạch Mai Hospital’s Department of Infectious Diseases on Sunday.

Đỗ Duy Cường, Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases told Vietnam News Agency that the patient was hospitalised with high fever and bruises on the skin due to the measles rash.

The results of cerebrospinal fluid testing showed the patient developed encephalitis-meningitis complication, a rare complication.

Cường said the patient was living and working in Bình Thạnh District in HCM City where the measles epidemic broke out. They then returned to their hometown near Hà Nội for Tet (Lunar New year). The patient did not remember whether he/she had been vaccinated.

Measles patient with encephalitis- meningitis complication are treated with Imunoglobulin (IVIg), a very expensive drug. The risks of suffering complications affecting mental and physical development was likely, he said.

Measles has been reported in 43 out of 64 provinces and cities nationwide with 664 patients since early this month, particularly in the south, according to the Ministry of Health.

The ministry noted that up to 90 per cent of infected children had not been vaccinated, leading to a high risk for the disease to spread. – VNS