The school’s representative said the teacher had just returned from Hanoi.

The department on Saturday had instructed District 12 authorities to take precautionary measures against measles and rubella to contain a possible epidemic.

The district would also have to closely monitor preventive measures at all local schools, the department said.

Phan Van Nghiem, a Health Department official, told Thanh Nien that the department is cooperating with District 12’s Department of Education and Training and local preventive health centers to stop the diseases from spreading.

Quoi Xuan School has been cleaned and sterilized while infected students are being quarantined in their houses, Nghiem said.

He said no other rubella or measles case has been reported in the school’s surrounding areas.

Nghiem said the health department and District 3 authorities are still keeping the Blue Exchange clothing shop on Hai Ba Trung Street closed for sterilization, ensuring hygienic conditions in the neighborhood and finding the source of rubella infections.

Last Thursday, eight employees of the shop aged between 19 and 28 were reported to have caught rubella.

The HCMC Health Department said so far 11 people had come down with measles and 13 with rubella at two infected spots.

Measles is a virus usually contracted during childhood. Symptoms include rashes and inflammation of the nose, throat, ears, mouth and bronchi, with adults most prone to more serious complications.

Rubella is also a highly contagious viral disease, especially affecting children, that causes swelling of the lymph glands and a reddish pink rash on the skin.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has asked the HCMC Pasteur Institute to speed up the supply of measles vaccines for targeted children.

The free measles inoculation must be carried out for all children aged between nine and 11 months as part of the National Extended Vaccination Program, the ministry said.

The National Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases has said the institute receives 25-30 cases of measles and scarlet fever in Hanoi a day. The patients are usually between 18 and 26 years old, it said.

The institute said it was the worst outbreak of measles over the past decade to hit Hanoi, with at least 900 people affected so far, including children and students.

The Ministry of Health Sunday said measles is likely to spread in several provinces because a number of afflicted individuals had not been quarantined.

The ministry also warned that some other contagious diseases including Ebola syndrome and Rift Valley Fever could hit Vietnam in the near future.

Reported by Thanh Tung - Nam Son