Health Deputy Minister Trinh Quan Huan (R) speaks with Vietnam’s first H1N1 patient Monday at HCMC’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases

Vietnam reported Monday that two more individuals have contracted influenza A (H1N1) after the first case was confirmed a day earlier.

The two flu patients returned to HCMC from the US on May 26 after transiting in South Korea, the city’s Health Department said.

State broadcaster VTV1 reported a woman and her 9-year-old child who returned from a trip to the United States on May 25 were confirmed to carry the H1N1 virus and were being treated in two hospitals in HCMC.

VTV1 quoted Health Ministry spokesman Nguyen Huy Nga as saying Monday that their condition had stabilized and fevers had subsided.

The nine-year-old was admitted to the Children’s Hospital No.1 with a fever on May 30 and later transferred to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases where he and his mother were confirmed to have contracted the illness formerly known as swine flu.

The boy’s father is also being tested for the virus and the family have been isolated, health authorities said.

Vietnam requires any suspected H1N1 cases to be quarantined for seven days.

On Sunday, Vietnam announced its first case of H1N1 after a 23-year-old Vietnamese student returning from the US tested positive for the virus. He is now said to be recovering, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases said Monday.

Pursuing other passengers

Health authorities said Monday they were searching for the remaining passengers who were on the same flights with the three flu patients.

Of the 241 passengers on the same plane as the most recent two cases, 173 were from other cities and provinces, the HCMC Health Department said.

Authorities also said Monday they had contacted 48 out of 125 passengers on the same flight as Vietnam’s first H1N1 patient. They were all found to be healthy, authorities confirmed.

Nga, also head of the Health Preventive Bureau, Monday admitted the difficulty in tracking down all passengers, many of whom had likely flown to other localities after arriving in HCMC.

Health authorities also warned people to watch for flu-like symptoms including fever, a dry cough, body aches, and diarrhea. People should seek immediate medical treatment if they manifest such symptoms, officials added.

Health Deputy Minister Trinh Quan Huan also met with HCMC health authorities Monday to discuss precautionary measures for controlling the disease.

Vietnam has been monitoring the health of passengers arriving at its airports in a bid to detect influenza A, which was first detected in April in the US and Mexico.

In its latest update, the World Health Organization said 62 countries have officially reported 17, 410 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection, including 115 deaths.

Reported by Thanh Tung – Nam Son