According to Associate Professor, Dr. Do Duy Cuong - Director of the Institute of Tropical Medicine, this place receives 10 to 20 cases of measles in adults every day. Most patients were hospitalized with symptoms of fever, cough, rash, runny nose, eye pain... but many cases were in the severe stage due to late detection.
Many patients have serious complications with pneumonia, respiratory failure, hyperlipidemia, diarrhea, and even encephalitis - meningitis. Notably, most patients have never been vaccinated or have not been vaccinated with measles vaccine. The age group from 30 to 50 is often subjective, not thinking that they can get measles, leading to delays in treatment.
measles is a disease that is very likely to spread through the respiratory tract and can become an epidemic if not controlled. Severe complications, especially in people with underlying diseases or immunodeficiency, may require blood filtration, mechanical ventilation, and even multiple organ failure" - Associate Professor, Dr. Do Duy Cuong warned.
This is the first death from measles in adults in 2025, warning of the risk and serious complications of the disease.
Measles is not only a disease of children. Adults, especially people with underlying diseases, are still at high risk and need to be vaccinated again if they have not been vaccinated for a long time or have no clear vaccination history.
Measles in adults is rare, often occurring in people who have not been vaccinated, have weakened immunity or underlying diseases. Adults are easily subjective because they think only children have measles, leading to the disease spreading easily and progressing severely. Dangerous complications can occur such as encephalitis, paralysis, strep, pneumonia, blindness, premature birth, miscarriage in pregnant women.
When detecting symptoms, people should go to a medical facility for timely examination and treatment. Measles in adults can occur in people without antibodies, usually with an incubation period of 7 - 21 days.
Many people still subjectively believe that measles is just a mild disease and will go away on its own after a few days. However, reality shows that the disease can cause dangerous complications if not treated promptly. When symptoms such as fever, rash, and prolonged cough appear, the patient needs to go to a medical facility immediately for examination and treatment.
Currently, measles is on the rise in Vietnam, not only in children but also in adults, especially those with underlying diseases or weakened immune systems. Measles vaccine is a safe and effective vaccine, recommended by the Ministry of Health to be vaccinated against all children and re-iningue periodically. Adequate vaccination not only helps protect personal health but also contributes to controlling epidemics in the community. Measles is not a simple disease as many people mistakenly believe, so take the initiative to prevent it before it is too late, Associate Professor, Dr. Cuong recommended.
