The risk of a shortage of medicine to treat hand, foot and mouth disease if the epidemic continues to increase

On the afternoon of June 29, at a meeting to provide information on socio-economic issues and epidemic prevention and control in the area, a representative of the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City said that the number of cases of limbs mouth is on a strong increasing trend in recent times. If the epidemic situation continues to increase, there are two drugs that may have difficulty in supply in the next phase.

According to Ms. Le Thien Quynh Nhu, Chief of the Office of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, in the past week (June 19-25), the city recorded 779 cases of hand, foot and mouth disease, double (116.2%) compared to the previous week. with an average of 4 weeks ago (360 cases); in which, the number of hospitalizations for inpatient treatment and outpatient care both increased by 1.8 times and 2.8 times, respectively.

Most of the districts in the city had an increase in the number of cases compared to the average of 4 weeks ago (21/22 districts), except for Can Gio district, the number of cases remained unchanged. Despite the recent sharp increase in the number of cases, the cumulative number of cases until week 25 is still 47.7% lower than the same period in 2022, at 3,736 cases.

Le Thien Quynh Nhu said that according to the hand, foot and mouth treatment protocol issued by the Ministry of Health, most of the drugs needed for the treatment of hand, foot and mouth disease are being fully met. However, the two drugs may face difficulty in the next phase of supply if the epidemic situation continues to escalate.

According to reports from local units, the source of Immunoglobulin, Phenobarbital injection for severe hand, foot and mouth disease may face difficulties in the near future if the hand, foot and mouth disease persists.

In particular, Phenobarbital injection 100mg/ml is one of the anticonvulsants, besides other drugs currently on the market such as Diazepam, Midazolam, phenobarbital (oral)... Phenobarbital 100mg/ml is a drug subject to special control, There are few suppliers nationwide.

Currently, CPC1 Central Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company supplies units in the city according to import orders. According to feedback from this company, the import order has been approved by the Drug Administration of Vietnam and it is expected that in early July 2023 there will be a next batch of drugs to supply the units.

Immunoglobulin is available on the market. However, the supply is limited. This is a difficult situation across the country and around the world. Immunoglobulin is a probiotic drug with few suppliers. Currently, Vietnam cannot produce, mainly using imported drugs.
A representative of the city's Department of Health said: "Currently, the winning drug bid units in the city are continuing to promote related procedures and coordinate with suppliers to supply drugs. At the same time, the Drug Administration of Vietnam has issued many guiding documents, requesting to ensure the supply of therapeutic drugs. In particular, the Department recommends that units continue to monitor and order drug import units to meet actual treatment needs.

The Department of Health and units tasked with receiving and treating hand, foot and mouth patients from southern provinces such as Children's Hospital 1, Children 2, City Children's Hospital, Hospital for Tropical Diseases are actively completing the treatment. All procurement for Immunoglobulin from imported drugs of Duy Anh Pharmaceutical Trading Company Limited has just been supported by the Drug Administration and the National Institute for Accreditation of vaccines and medical biologicals to speed up the inspection progress. determined.

The risk of drug shortages for hand, foot and mouth treatment has been reported by the city's Department of Health to the Ministry of Health. At the inspection of epidemic prevention and control in Ho Chi Minh City last week, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong asked Children's Hospital 1 to coordinate in developing guidelines and conducting research to help prevent and control the spread of the virus. There may be new drugs, available alternatives, new treatments, etc.

According to the Deputy Minister of Health, as of December 2022, the Ministry has sent an official dispatch to request the provincial and municipal Health Departments to estimate the number of drugs to avoid being passive, although the forecast is very difficult. In the case of rare drugs without a circulation number, the Ministry of Health will direct units to search for suppliers, prepare licensing documents, etc.

* SOURCE: https://baotintuc.vn/y-te/nguy-co-thieu-thuoc-dieu-tri-tay-chan-mieng-neu-dich-benh-tiep-tuc-gia-tang-20230629182831253.htm