Infections at HCM City’s Children Hospital No 1 so far this month have been up by 42 percent over the same period last month, says the hospital’s Dr Nguyen Thi Bich Lien.

Many of the patients were hospitalized after Tet, she says, some of whom had lung and skin side-effects due to a delay in receiving treatment.

In Hanoi, there were five serious cases of chickenpox in February, says Pham Nhat An, head of the infection department under the Central Paediatrics Hospital.

“We cannot determine the real number of infected children because with light cases children get treatment at home. Parents only send their children to hospital when the situation is really bad,” An says.

According to Truong Huu Khanh, head of the infection-nerve department under the Children Hospital No 1, the first symptom of chickenpox is a light fever, with a red rash appearing on the face after several days. Vaccination is the only effective way to prevent the disease, he says.

VNS