[health-vn] Fever rampant in Ha Noi children

[Vern Weitzel]

http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=03HEA090509

Fever rampant in Ha Noi children

(09-05-2009)

HA NOI — The number of children suffering from virus-related fevers and 
respiratory diseases is rising in Ha Noi.

The number of children admitted to the hospital has risen in the past few weeks, 
said Dr Nguyen The Thanh of Bach Mai Hospital’s Paediatrics Department.

"There are between 70 and 80 child patients hospitalised each day. This number 
increases by 150 at the weekends when the outpatients’ department is off," he said.

Three to a bed

Currently, the hospital is crammed with young patients, with two or three 
children sharing a bed.

The Saint Paul Hospital’s Paediatrics Department is currently receiving 500 to 
600 new patients each day. As many as 200 of these have acute respiratory 
problems and high fever, according to the department’s Doctor Nguyen Thi Tho.

Thanh said that common symptoms were headaches, chills, muscle pain and 
vomiting. Some also suffered from convulsions and difficulty breathing.

"For the most part, patients recover from a high fever after five to seven days 
treatment, but the condition sometimes reoccurs among weak patients," he said.

The doctor also warned that the symptoms of virus-caused fevers were similar to 
encephalitis.

"People who still have a fever after the usual recovery period should be 
hospitalised and take further tests to avoid serious complications that may 
include brain damage," the doctor said.

In spite of the high number of patients, there was no sign that this was an 
epidemic.

Director of the Central Paediatrics Hospital Nguyen Thanh Liem said it was 
difficult to distinguish between the AH1N1 flu and other kinds of flu, but so 
far there had been no cases of swine flu in Viet Nam. — VNS