VietNamNet Bridge – The Hanoi-based Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases has received 13-15 new acute diarrhea patients daily over the past week, compared to just several patients a day previously.

Hanoi authorities have inspected many street restaurants related to the outbreak and temporarily closed them for selling unhygienic cooking.

Health experts stated that there were many acute diarrhea patients in Hanoi’s inner districts of Dong Da, Hoang Mai and Hai Ba Trung, which were home to the previous cholera pandemic. This is a signal of a new cholera epidemic in the capital city.

Among patients hospitalized at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, 18 had cholera by last weekend. The numbers of acute diarrhea patients at other hospitals in Hanoi is also on the rise.

The Ministry of Health and the Hanoi Department of Health are still avoiding mention of a cholera epidemic and also the number of patients. Both agencies will “wait” for testing results from the Central Institute for Epidemiology before making an official announcement about cholera.

At the same time, Hanoi Preventive Health Centre reported 144 acute diarrhea patients in Hanoi since June 13. Up to 66 percent of them ate dog meat, raw vegetables, shrimp paste and snail vermicelli before coming down with acute diarrhea.

According to the Ministry of Health’s report, the bacterium that has been causing cholera in Vietnam since 2007 is growing more toxic and dangerous.

Hanoi authorities have inspected many street restaurants related to the outbreak and temporarily closed them for selling unhygienic food.

Preventive Health Agency Vice-Chief Nguyen Van Binh noted that the cholera pandemic in Cambodia can spread to Vietnam, so his agency will meet with its Cambodian counterpart to discuss solutions to combat the disease, especially along the Vietnam-Cambodia border. Binh added that many Cambodian cholera patients have come to Vietnam for treatment.

Cholera patients have been discovered in many provinces in the Mekong Delta region as well, such as Ben Tre, An Giang, Tien Giang.

PV