A representative from the Da Nang City Department of Health stated that the health condition of all three children receiving treatment at Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children and Quang Nam Northern Mountainous General Hospital is improving, with stable vital signs. Being simultaneously taken off ventilators marks a significant turning point in the treatment process.

According to Doctor Tran Long Quan, Head of the Pediatric Emergency, Intensive Care, and Anti-poison Department at Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children, the 7-year-old patient is recovering the fastest, having been taken off a ventilator for nearly 24 hours as of noon on 14/3. The 11-year-old patient began weaning off the ventilator on the evening of 13/3 and completed it this morning.

Similarly, the 15-year-old patient was taken off a ventilator by doctors at Quang Nam Northern Mountainous General Hospital from the afternoon of 13/3. The patient can now move slightly and speak on the phone.

The 7-year-old patient has been off a ventilator for nearly 24 hours and is recovering well. Photo: Phuc Huynh

"The children's condition is improving well, and their respiratory indicators are stable, so we proceeded to take them off ventilators. The patients are now past the critical stage," Doctor Quan stated, adding that the pediatric patients will continue to be monitored, receive supportive treatment, and undergo physical rehabilitation in the coming days.

Ho Van Mia, the father of the three patients, happily reported that he has spoken with his children. "My eldest child called me after being taken off the ventilator, asking about the health of his two younger siblings," Mia said, expressing deep emotion that the doctors saved his three children from the brink of death.

Previously, all three children were hospitalized in serious condition, exhibiting drooping eyelids, limb muscle weakness, and rapidly progressing respiratory failure, requiring mechanical ventilation.

Doctors examine two pediatric patients at Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children, on 12/3. Photo: Nguyen Dong

The pediatric patients were injected with Botulism Antitoxin Heptavalent (BAT), coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO). On the evening of 11/3, as soon as the antitoxin arrived at Da Nang International Airport, the health sector immediately transported it to the hospitals for nighttime administration. One part of the medication was transferred to Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children to treat the two 7-year-old and 11-year-old children, while the remaining portion was sent to Quang Nam Northern Mountainous General Hospital for the 15-year-old patient.

According to doctors, early administration of the antitoxin helps neutralize the botulinum toxin, preventing further neurological damage and allowing patients to recover. This medication is rare, costing approximately 8,000 USD per vial.

The three pediatric patients are siblings from a family in Phuoc Nang commune, who suffered poisoning after eating a fermented fish dish on 8/3. This is a traditional food fermented in an airtight environment. If the preparation process does not ensure hygiene, Clostridium botulinum bacteria can grow and produce dangerous neurotoxins.

The health sector advises the public to be cautious when consuming traditionally fermented and airtight-stored foods if hygiene safety is not ensured.

Nguyen Dong