People suffering from chicken pox, especially children, should behospitalised as soon as possible to avoid unexpected and seriouscomplications during its peak season this month, doctors have warned.

The warning came after a two-year-old boy was hospitalised in Ho ChiMinh City 's Paediatrics Hospital No1 and diagnosed with septicaemiahaving contracted chicken pox two weeks before. A two-day-old new-born,who caught the disease from her mother, is also under intensive care.

Doctor Nguyen Tien Dung, head of the Bach Mai Hospital's Children Ward,said that the hospital received about 200 patients each day on average,ranging from between one and five years old.

Dung saidthe number of patients was less than the previous year, but that ofthose who were in a critical condition and at risk of complications suchas pneumonia and meningitis was higher.

"These patients mistook the disease for an allergic reaction and didn't treat it correctly," he said.

From five to six patients are being hospitalised for treatment each dayon average in the National Hospital for Contagious and TropicalDiseases in Hanoi .

Doctor Nguyen Tien Lam from thehospital said there had been an increasing number of adults admittedwith chicken-pox in recent days, and many were displaying serioussymptoms.

"They might not have been vaccinated or theirimmune systems were weak," he said, adding that late treatment couldlead to many complications, such as deep scarring and hearing problems.

Doctor Truong Huu Khanh, director of the Paediatrics Hospital No1'sInfectious Ward, said children over 12 months old and pregnant womenshould be vaccinated to avoid contracting the disease.

Infected people should be kept isolated to avoid transmitting the disease to others, he said.

Chickenpox is caused by the varicella zoster virus and characterised byskin eruptions. People are at the highest risk of catching chicken-poxin Vietnam during March./.