These cases are not fatal, he said. One case of meningococcal patient in Hanoi is a three month-old girl from Mekong district who was taken to the National Paediatrics Hospital on January 16 with a high temperature, vomiting and diarrhoea. She is still in the hospital but in a stable condition.

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology has joined hands with the Hanoi Department of Preventive Medicine to sterilize the areas around the patient’s house and has instructed those who came into contact with the patient. No further outbreak has been detected.

Two other meningococcal patients in HCM City are aged two and six.

About 650 meningitis cases have been reported per year over the last 10 years, with most of the patients in northern provinces, said the director of the Hanoi Department of Preventive Medicine, Nguyen Van Binh. Last year, 305 cases were reported, resulting in four fatalities, he said, adding that the disease often occurs in spring when the humid weather makes it possible for the bacteria to spread quickly.

The disease could lead to brain trauma, causing patients to lose their hearing and suffer septicaemia, said Binh.

VNS