Measles is spreading to 12 cities and provinces of Vietnam nationwide, raising the number of Vietnamese residents diagnosed with the disease to about 650 so far this year, the local newspaper Young People reported on Tuesday.

Measles is breaking out in 29 districts in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Meanwhile, the disease is hitting 14 districts out of 24 in Ho Chi Minh City, according to Nguyen Huy Nga, head of Department of Preventive Health and Environment under Vietnam's Ministry of Health.

Ten other provinces reported of the disease are Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Hoa Binh, Quang Ninh, Yen Bai and Ha Giang in the north and Dong Nai in the south.

To deal with the situation, the ministry said that it had imported 200,000 doses of vaccines for measles, and these were now undergoing quality checks.

The ministry has also asked that all cities and provinces take measures to prevent an outbreak of the disease.