HANOI, April 5 (Xinhua) -- A spike in chickenpox infections, especially among children, has been reported in the northern provinces of Vietnam, Vietnam News reported on Wednesday.
Authorities in the capital of Hanoi recorded 548 people infected with the chickenpox virus so far this year in 18 out of 30 districts.
The virus was mostly spread among children with 36 percent of the contracted cases found among kindergarten children, and 38 percent among older kids at primary schools.
The mountainous province of Lao Cai, about 300 km to the northwest of Hanoi, also recorded nearly 400 cases of chickenpox since the beginning of the year. Meanwhile, the Bac Kan province has recently reported an outbreak at a primary school with 30 cases.
While children have the highest rates of illness severe enough to require hospital care, infants are 30 percent more likely to die of dangerous complications, a rate much higher than in older children or adults, said Nguyen Thi Quynh Nga, deputy head of the Treatment and Special Care No 1 Ward under the National Paediatrics Hospital.
Most people infected with chicken pox show symptoms including an itchy, blister-like rash, fever, headache and fatigue, but some develop dangerous complications such as meningitis, myelitis, optic neuritis, polyneuritis, adrenal failure, glomerulonephritis, eye damage, and even death.
Parents should be aware that serious complications can occur and they should not treat their children at home, said medical experts. ■