6 common diseases in winter and spring

Doctor Pham Hong Thuyet, Medical Manager, VNVC Vaccination System, said this year’s winter-spring weather coincides with the Lunar New Year holiday and the festival season at the beginning of the year. The changing seasons and increased demand for travel and crowds of people cause the following infectious diseases to spread faster:

Flu

Cold and humid climates are favorable conditions for influenza viruses to develop and survive longer in the environment. In addition, erratic changes in temperature and biological rhythm, and traveling in polluted air conditions will cause the respiratory system to become sensitive and resistance to decrease. Therefore, the body is easily attacked by the flu virus.

Flu causes fever, cough, headache, sore throat, runny nose, body aches… The disease usually goes away on its own within a week, but can progress acutely into pneumonia, respiratory failure, lung infection, and high blood pressure. pressure, arrhythmia, increased risk of heart stroke and life danger. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), each year influenza viruses cause 290,000 – 650,000 deaths. In 2024, Vietnam will record more than 280,000 cases of seasonal flu and 8 deaths.

Measles

Many entertainment activities and large gatherings also cause measles to break out. One person with measles can infect 12-18 people. The infectious period lasts from before until after the rash appears, making it difficult to control.

Measles is common in children, especially children under 5 years old, but it tends to shift to older children and adults. The disease causes dangerous complications such as pneumonia, encephalitis, diarrhea, corneal ulcers, and can lead to death.

Vietnam has more than 6,700 measles cases in 2024, an increase of more than 130 times compared to 2023, including 13 deaths. In just one week from December 27, 2024 to January 3, 2025, the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (CDC) recorded 101 cases of measles and forecasts that the number of cases will continue to increase.

Chicken pox

Spring’s humid weather is the time when chickenpox outbreaks are strongest. The virus is transmitted from person to person through the respiratory tract, through nose and throat secretions, and fluid from blisters on the skin.

Chickenpox is benign, but if not properly cared for, the patient can develop skin infections leading to sepsis, pneumonia, encephalitis, hepatitis… leading to death. People at high risk of getting the disease and experiencing serious complications are young children, pregnant women, the elderly, people with chronic diseases…

Chickenpox virus is the second leading cause of encephalitis with a mortality rate of 9-20%. According to research, about 90% of people who have not had chickenpox or have not been vaccinated if exposed to this virus will be at risk of infection.

Dengue fever

Unseasonal rain, environmental pollution, and people not paying attention to good hygiene around the house allow mosquitoes to breed and transmit dengue fever. In 2024, the country will record 141,000 cases of dengue fever, 28 deaths, and 357 cases will be recorded during the Tet holiday alone.

The disease has no specific treatment, and can progress seriously with complications of shock, pleural effusion, heart failure, multiple heart failure, cerebral hemorrhage, septic shock… potentially leading to death.

Diphtheria

The disease is easily transmitted through the respiratory tract or through direct contact with secretions from the nasopharyngeal mucosa of patients or healthy carriers when coughing or sneezing. Outbreaks are not clearly seasonal and are highly contagious when there is a source of the disease, especially in densely populated areas or with unsanitary conditions.

Diphtheria can be complicated by respiratory obstruction causing difficulty breathing, myocarditis, nerve damage leading to paralysis, lung infection, and death within 6-10 days. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diphtheria has a mortality rate of up to 20%, with a high number of cases occurring in young children and adolescents.

Whooping cough

In Vietnam, whooping cough occurs sporadically throughout the year, usually in winter and spring. On average, one sick person can infect 12-17 people, 80% of people exposed to the disease can be infected, so gathering in large numbers during Tet can easily create a whooping cough outbreak.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), prolonged pertussis in adults can cause pneumonia, bronchopneumonia due to superinfection, weight loss, apnea, insomnia, urinary incontinence, and fractures. ribs when coughing severely… leading to death.

How to prevent disease

According to Dr. Thuyet, to create the best immunity for Tet, people should proactively get vaccinated to prevent diseases. With influenza, Vietnam currently has vaccines against 4 common influenza virus strains including A/H1N1, A/H3N3, B/Victoria and B/Yamagata for children from 6 months old and adults, with booster vaccination every year. Vaccines to prevent diphtheria, pertussis, and measles are common in expanded vaccination programs and services. Adults should receive a booster shot of diphtheria – pertussis – tetanus every 10 years.

For chickenpox, Vietnam has many types of vaccines, vaccinated from 9 months of age and adults, effective in preventing the disease up to 97%.

Dengue fever also has a vaccine that helps fully prevent 4 virus serotypes, with a high disease prevention efficiency of over 80% and prevents up to 90% of the risk of hospitalization.

During spring vacation, if people are attacked by animals, they need to get vaccinated against rabies as soon as possible. Currently, Vietnam has two new generation types of rabies vaccine that do not affect the nervous system: Verorab (France) and Abhayrab (India), administered intramuscularly or intradermally.

In addition, Dr. Thuyet advises people to maintain good personal hygiene, regularly wash hands with soap, clean nose and throat daily with salt water, avoid close contact with sick people, and eat nutritious food. and room cleaning. When showing signs of illness, people need to go to a specialized medical facility for appropriate advice and treatment.