Up to 798 people, mostly female workers, in Vietnam's southern Ho Chi Minh City have suffered from rubella, a contagious viral infection with mild symptoms associated with a rash, since last November.

Most of the patients are from Cu Chi District, and they work in industrial parks in the city, local newspaper Labor reported on Friday.

To deal with the situation, local health agencies are strengthening vaccination among residents, especially young women at universities and factories, and children aged 12-24 months. They are also urging people to improve hygiene of their living and working environments.

Rubella, or German measles or three-day measles, is caused by avirus that is spread through the air or by close contact. It can also be transmitted to a fetus by a mother with an active infection, causing severe disease in the fetus. In children and adults, rubella is usually mild and may even go unnoticed.

Source: Xinhua