Seven of 45 people with acute diarrhea who were admitted to local hospitals in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang between January 19 and 28, were found to have cholera, a health ministry agency reported on Sunday.

The department did not clarify whether all the patients were Vietnamese or not.

The Ministry of Health has warned of an outbreak of cholera, an acute intestinal infection transmitted through water or cooking contaminated with the bacteria vibrio, causing diarrhea and dehydration that can lead to kidney failure and death if not treated promptly.

The disease has ravaged northern Vietnam two times, in 2008 and 2009, infecting hundreds of people.

Meanwhile, in the central province of Ha Tinh, which has been hit by outbreaks of the avian flu H5N1, reported that seven people had fallen sick with fever and flu symptoms after coming in contact with sick poultry.

However, tests at the Hanoi-based National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology showed they did not have the avian flu virus.

Also on Sunday, the Nam Tra My General Hospital in the central province of Quang Nam said they had admitted 25 people with malaria over the past week from Tra Tap Commune.

The local health agency found nearly 100 people affected with the mosquito-borne infectious disease, but they had not approached the hospital for treatment. Hospital staff said they had also found patients in Nam Tra My District’s other communes.

Source: Tuoi Tre