HANOI, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam reported 1,963 measles patients, mostly children, in 2018, up 13 times against 2017, according to its Health Ministry on Monday.
Over 50 percent of the patients were not vaccinated against measles, and the rest were vaccinated but not fully or not in line with schedule, the ministrys Preventive Medicine Department said, adding that some adults, including pregnant women, were infected with the disease.
In 2018, Vietnam also reported 7,739 people who had fever and some symptoms of measles.
Measles infections have recently been spotted mainly in Vietnam's northern mountainous provinces, such big cities as Hanoi capital and Ho Chi Minh City, and some southern provinces which house many industrial parks, including Dong Nai and Binh Duong.
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the measles virus, and its common complications include diarrhea, middle ear infection, and pneumonia. Being an airborne disease, it easily spreads through the coughs and sneezes of infected people.
