Antibiotic resistance, a growing global issue, is becoming a significant threat in Vietnam. Swiss Ambassador to Vietnam Thomas Gass highlighted that reliable treatments such as antibiotics, antivirals, and antifungal drugs are losing their effectiveness due to increasing resistance.

Health experts have shared the latest knowledge on the impact of pneumococcal diseases in adults and the effectiveness of conjugate pneumococcal vaccines.

Vietnam is among the 66 military medical delegations gathering in the Belgian capital city of Brussels for the 44th International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM) World Congress held from September 5 – 9.

The Health Ministry's Department of Medical Examination and Treatment and the Antimicrobial Resistance Research Centre of Japan on September 9 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in developing antimicrobial monitoring system in Vietnam.

The healthcare sector is adapting to new medical trends to meet higher public expectations for healthcare quality, the head of the Ministry of Health's Preventive Medicine Department Tran Dac Phu said.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the US Robert Redfield signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in infection prevention and antibiotic resistance and infection surveillance related to medical care in Hanoi on December 12.

Hospitals and clinics in Vietnam have started implementing surveillance of nosocomial infections and monitoring the hospital-infection control process, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien said at a recent meeting.

The Ministry of Health has launched a project wherein by 2020, all pharmacies will be required to sell antibiotics only to patients carrying doctors’ prescriptions.

The over-prescription of antibiotics caused a common gastrointestinal bacteria to develop antibiotic resistance, experts said at a recent conference on digestion held by Bach Mai Hospital and the Japanese Nagoya University in Hanoi.

A meeting was held in Hanoi on August 2 to launch Vietnam’s national action plan for the reduction of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance in livestock production and aquaculture in the 2017-2020 period.

Coordination between domestic and foreign organisations will be promoted to reduce health risks posed by diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans.

Vietnam commits to working closely with the international community to effectively address antibiotic resistance related issues, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien has asserted.