Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health (MoH) has imported 6,000 bottles of Plasma-derived Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIG) to Vietnam to supply local hospitals for treatment of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).
According to details given by the MoH, the quantity of drugs has met the urgent needs of hospitals. However, due to sharp increases in infection numbers, the MoH has requested that importers move to ensure IVIG drug supply in a bid to meet the increasing demand of the hospitals.
IVIG is an effective adjuvant treatment used in severe cases of HFMD and helps to reduce the rate of transfer, as well as the rate of severe complications of the disease in children. However, the drugs can only be produced from human plasma and cannot be produced domestically.
Therefore, the production is entirely dependent on the supply of plasma through blood donation. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of people donating their blood decreased significantly, a factor which caused a shortage of raw materials for Immunoglobulin production on a global scale.
According to the latest statistics produced by the MoH, the country detected a total of 12,600 HFMD patients during the first six months of the year, whilst at least seven deaths have been recorded due to the disease so far.
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