Vietnam remains clear of influenza A

Published: 04/05/2009 05:00

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The temperature scanning device installed at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport has detected eight visitors arriving with high temperatures during the past two days.

All border areas have been ordered to stay on round the clock alert for the infuenza A (H1 N1) virus as the flu continues to spread around the world; residents are advised to take precautionary measures.

All nine travelers arriving in Vietnam with high temperatures during the past two days are clear of the influenza A (H1N1) virus, otherwise known as swine flu, health authorities announced Monday.

Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Health said eight people arriving at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport with high temperatures had been admitted to the Children Hospital No. 1 and Hospital for Tropical Diseases, but discharged after tests for the H1N1 virus were negative.

The eight included two local children, an overseas Vietnamese child from Denmark and five adults from the US, Denmark, Australia and Hong Kong.

In Hanoi, a South Korean woman arriving at the Noi Bai International Airport on Sunday with a high temperature was also not infected with influenza A’s H1N1 virus.

She was on her way to China and transiting through Vietnam, where she was detected with a temperature of more than 39 degrees Celsius.

The woman was then admitted to the National Institute of Infectious and Tropical Diseases where doctors found she had contracted the common influenza A H3N2 virus.

The Ministry of Health Monday warned residents to stay away from public places as a preventive measure against the possible spread of the H1N1 virus.

The ministry has also recommended that residents avoid using air conditioners as they may facilitate the spread of the virus.

It has also advised people to follow sanitation rules and report to health agencies if they have cough or high temperatures, especially after returning from abroad.

Trinh Quan Huan, deputy Minister of Health, Monday ordered relevant agencies to maintain round the clock vigilance at all border gates.

In a teleconference with representatives of health authorities and agencies from all 63 cities and provinces, he asked them to quickly implement the government’s instructions on preventing the flu, provide updated information on the virus to residents and ensure early detection of any infection for timely treatment.

Each province will be supplied with another 5,000 tablets of Tamilflu and have been instructed to report any shortage of equipment to the ministry, he said.

Huan said residents should not be overanxious, but vigilant, and that measures to combat the flu should be strengthened, including preventive measures for health personnel.

Vietnam has not detected any cases in the country so far, he said, adding that many people entering the country have the symptoms, but have tested negative for the virus.

Drawing from experience during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, in which health staff were one of first people to get infected, the Health Ministry has asked the medical establishment to pay due attention to prevent infection among their staff, especially those working at general hospitals, respiratory departments, and departments of communicable diseases.

The staff should wear masks, wash hands with soap before and after contact with patients, and take Tamiflu for preventive purposes in some cases.

“Health staff must make sure they are healthy first so that they can protect the health of other people. If they are infected, the health sector will face a manpower shortage,” Huan said.

Ly Ngoc Kinh, head of the Department of Health Examination and Treatment Management, said starting next week, the Ministry of Health will offer training of treatment for influenza A (H1N1) for health staff at provincial general hospitals and health departments.

The training, which also focuses on using respiratory machines, will later be offered to staff at lower level health agencies.

At the teleconference, representatives from localities said more hospitals should be prepared for quarantining urgent cases. They also said trans-regional steering committees should be set up to better monitor the disease.

Several localities are now facing a shortage of equipment and drugs to fight the spread of the virus, including Tamiflu, respiratory machines, temperature scanners and health masks, they added.

A representative from Da Nang City said the locality had only one body temperature scanning machine at its airport, and has no stock of Tamiflu.

Nguyen Tran Hien, director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said keeping the danger level of the flu low would depend mostly on early detection and treatment. He also encouraged the public to exercise good hygiene.

No ban on pork imports

Hoang Van Nam, Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the ministry did not have any plan yet to ban pork imports.

He said there was not enough scientific evidence of the infection mechanism to warrant it.

However, if the epidemic develops more seriously, Vietnam may consider banning the import of pork from countries where the outbreak has affected pigs, he said.

Monday, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention sent the Department of Animal Health kits to test for the H1N1 virus among pigs. The kits, which will help quickly detect the virus, are expected to arrive in Vietnam in the next few days, he said.

“We plan to buy some more kits, but at small volumes, to enable early detection. The kits will be used in laboratories in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City,” Nam said. As of now, there are no pigs in Vietnam suspected of having the H1N1 virus, he added.

Reported by Bao Anh – Thanh Tung

Provide by Vietnam Travel

Vietnam remains clear of influenza A - Health - News |  vietnam travel company

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