HCMC – The Ministry of Health has revealed that a company has submitted its request for producing the hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD) vaccine and the approval is expected to be granted late this year.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong shared this information during an emergency online meeting with representatives from 20 southern provinces on June 23, discussing measures to combat HFMD and dengue fever.
In the southern region, the number of HFMD cases has reached 2,000 this week, marking a 23% increase compared to the previous week, including two fatalities.
The Enterovirus 71 (EV71) has been identified as the cause of five out of seven deaths since the beginning of the year. Most HFMD cases were detected at private medical centers, where initial symptoms of the disease might have been missed.
The Ministry of Health has urged relevant agencies to take proactive measures to control the outbreak while awaiting production of vaccine.
Earlier, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health developed three plans to address the rising number of HFMD cases in the city. These plans include ensuring an adequate availability of inpatient beds for 50, 50 to 100, and 100 to 200 new cases per day.
According to the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, the southern region has reported a total of 11,065 HFMD cases this year, resulting in the unfortunate deaths of seven children.
