HCMC residents test negative for H1N1 virus

All 18 people of Ho Chi Minh City who traveled on the same plane with an American Vietnamese woman who later tested positive for the influenza A H1N1 virus have been released after testing negative for the virus.

Le Thi Bich, who was quarantined while transiting through South Korea from the US, remains quarantined in Seoul. Doctor Phan Van Nghiem from HCMC Department of Health said Friday that the 18 people are still under supervision at home. In related news, the International Health Quarantine Center found three people with high temperatures at the HCMC International Tan Son Nhat Airport Friday. Two Americans and a three+year-old from the Republic of Korea are under supervision at HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases and Children Hospital 1. Test results have not been released yet. Reported by Thanh Tung

Vietnam announces $4 mln to control southern dengue outbreak

Vietnam health authorities will spend VND70 billion (US$3.94 million) on tackling the early outbreak of dengue fever this year that has killed 17 people and continues to spread in the southern provinces.

The Health Ministry’s Bureau of Preventive Health and Environment reported at a conference on dengue fever Monday in Can Tho that a total of 18,100 people nationwide have been infected with the mosquito-borne disease since January. Eleven people had died from dengue during the same period last year, around 40 percent less than this year, the bureau said. Bureau head Nguyen Huy Nga said 85 percent of the cases were in southern provinces and that the D1 dengue virus type could worsen the outbreak. Tran Ngoc Huu, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute, said HCMC still topped the list in the number of patients. The number of dengue fever patients has increased over the past two years, and warmer weather caused by global climate change has also contributed to the rise, he said. Nguyen Dac Tho, deputy director of the HCMC Center for Preventive Health, said dengue fever has spread to 222 of the total 321 wards and communes in the city. He said that the disease had struck the city a month earlier than usual, while a shortage of health workers has continued to be a problem and hospitals struggle to cope with dengue patients. Dr. Tran Tan Hien of the HCMC Hospital for Tropical Diseases said the number of dengue sufferers was stressing hospital services. Symptoms of dengue fever, a common disease in developing countries, include high fever, skin rashes and severe pain in the head and limbs. A representative at the conference from the Can Tho Children’s Hospital, which offers treatment to dengue fever patients from Mekong Delta provinces, said they examined more than 80 patients a day in the first five months of this year. Health authorities in south-central Binh Thuan Province on Monday also reported a drastic increase of dengue fever patients. Binh Thuan General Hospital said they were treating 374 inpatients, both with dengue fever and viral fever, while the children’s ward has only 120 beds. Minh, a resident from the province’s Phan Thiet Town, said she had to wait in the corridor with her child who had a severely high temperature. “I wish he could be treated, it doesn’t matter where we have to stay,” said another woman whose child was suffering, adding that each bed was already occupied by two or three children. Reported by Quang Minh Nhat

US gives Vietnam protective bird flu equipment

The US will provide Vietnam with 4,000 sets of personal protective equipment and 100 boxes of biodegradable disinfectant powder to help cope with future bird flu threats, the US embassy said in a press release Wednesday.

The provision is enough to produce over 20,000 liters of disinfectant to help animal health workers respond quickly to outbreaks of the H5N1 avian flu virus or H1N1 swine influenza strain. This assistance package, valued at over US$57,000 and implemented by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), comes at the request of Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with technical support from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization. The shipment is on its way to veterinary departments in 10 provinces and cities most at risk of bird flu or in greatest need of the supplies: Can Tho, Ha Nam, Hau Giang, Hung Yen, Kien Giang, Quang Binh, Quang Ngai, Quang Tri, Thai Nguyen, and Tra Vinh. The US government has provided more than $33.5 million in bird-flu aid to Vietnam since 2005. Reported by Bao Anh

Doctor accused of faking prescriptions to make off with drugs

People in the insurance policyholder pharmacy waiting room at Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. The Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance Agency said it has evidence a Cho Ray Hospital doctor may have surreptitiously used its policy holders to issue fake prescriptions and cash in on the drugs.

Hospital director Nguyen Truong Son said the doctor, identified only as L., had been suspended following a string of anonymous accusations sent to Thanh Nien and a follow-up report by Tuoi Tre that appeared to confirm some of the suspicions. The accusatory letters said L. had colluded with another hospital employee in the pharmacy department to use the Social Insurance Agency policies of several workers at a local company to issue prescriptions. L. is accused of paying the policy holders a fee and then paying an accomplice to pick up the prescriptions, presumably so that L. could then sell the expensive drugs. A source from the hospital said the case was originally reported by another Cho Ray doctor who saw a healthy-looking person suspiciously picking up several expensive prescriptions at once. Son said L. and a Cho Ray pharmacy employee, known only as T., had both been suspended and ordered to write reports on the issue. He did not specify T.’s alleged role in the scheme. Dubious prescriptions Social Insurance Agency Director Cao Van Sang said Thursday the group had found that L. had issued 33 prescriptions in a two-day period last month. Sang said the prescriptions were valued at more than VND3 million (US$169) each on average. Most of them were medicines for diabetes, blood disorders and kidney failure, all problems that generally affect the elderly. But Sang said those who received the prescriptions, according to office paperwork, were young people. He said his agency would inspect all documents and prescriptions L. had issued for its policyholders recently, and would also inspect other procedures at the hospital. Sang said the prescriptions had to have been issued by the doctor in question, and with use of the policyholder’s information, as all data were correct and the documents were stamped with the hospital’s official seal. Doesn’t add up Sang said Thursday the agency had reviewed the list of patients who received prescriptions from L. at Cho Ray Hospital through March and April. Most of these patients had been transferred to Cho Ray from other hospitals, mainly District 7 Hospital. But upon inspection of District 7 Hospital documents, Sang said none of L.’s patients at Cho Ray had ever visited the facility in District 7. A Tuoi Tre investigation came to the same conclusion this week. Cho Ray documents from March 20 showed that L. had prescribed medicine for three patients transferred from District 7 Hospital: Ho Thi Lan Huong, Tran Minh Hung and Le Thi Thanh Thao, according to the Tuoi Tre report. They were prescribed drugs worth around VND4 million ($225) each for the same disease: type-2 diabetes. But District 7 Hospital had no records of the three patients, said the newspaper. The story went on to say that Cho Ray documents showed six patients had been transferred from District 7 Hospital on March 25, but again, the district hospital had none of their records. All six patients were diagnosed with diabetes, one with additional arthritis, and all were issued prescriptions by L. for medicines costing between VND2.5 million ($141) and VND3.6 million ($202) each. Similar differences were found in the records of at least 22 other patients that obtained prescriptions from L. Healthy ‘patients’ Among patients being prescribed drugs by L. were three workers from Palace Industrial Co. Ltd. in HCMC’s Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, District 7. Ngo Van Hong, Vu Thi Noi and Phan Thi Vang were prescribed diabetes medication by L. on March 25. Their medicines were worth between VND3.4 million and VND3.6 million each. Cho Ray paperwork said the three had been transferred from District 7 Hospital. But the head of the company’s personnel department said on Wednesday that the three workers had not left work on the day in question. He also said they did not have diabetes and had never used their health insurance cards. The official later faxed a report on a meeting he held with the three staff in which he said they confirmed they had indeed worked the whole day and not visited the hospital. Sang said his agency was continuing its investigation and would announce all results to the media by the end of the week. In the meantime, the agency has suspended payments to Cho Ray for all treatment costs for policyholders examined there in March and April. Source: TN, TT

Australian embassy donates orthopedic devices to disabled

The Australian Embassy on Sunday donated orthopedic devices to the Advising and Aiding Center on Orthopedic Devices for Disabled Persons in Hanoi.

The donation is one of a number of small-scale projects funded by the embassy through its direct assistance program worth AUD96,000 (US$72,000) for Vietnam in the 2008- 2009 fiscal year. Under the same program, the embassy has implemented various aid projects in Hanoi and the northern provinces of Dien Bien, Bac Kan, Hung Yen, Hai Duong and Bac Ninh. Michael Hoy, the Australian Embassy’s third secretary said he hopes the project will encourage those more fortunate to reach out and help Vietnam’s disadvantaged. The projects, which focus on the environment, healthcare, education and vocational training, have benefited many people, particularly parents and children living with HIV/AIDS in remote mountainous areas. Reported by Vinh Bao

it was closely monitoring the health

The Ministry of Health Thursday reported it was closely monitoring the health of 35 passengers sharing the same flight with a woman who was later found with influenza A (H1N1) and quarantined in South Korea.

All the passengers are in good health and are in quarantine, the ministry said, adding that no case of the flu had been detected so far in Vietnam. The Ho Chi Minh City Health Department also said Thursday that 11 of the passengers, who had earlier arrived at the city’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport, had tested negative for the virus. These passengers had taken the flight OZ271 from the US to Vietnam. One of the passengers, Le Thi Bich, was quarantined for testing positive for the virus after the flight transited at the Incheon International Airport in South Korea. The 22-year-old woman is an overseas Vietnamese residing in the US. Officials at the city’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport found and quarantined four passengers arriving with high temperatures, including a three-year-old child from Singapore and three Vietnamese citizens from Malaysia and Australia. On the same day, health officials cleared two of them. The Health Department of Ba RiaVung Tau Province on Thursday reported they have quarantined four people with high temperatures, including one returning from Indonesia and three workers of a petroleum company who returned from the US. Reported by Thanh Nien staff

One dead as cholera spreads in northern region

A 50-year-old man from the northern province of Ninh Binh died last Tuesday of cholera, the Ministry of Health reported on its website Monday.

The man from Lai Thanh Commune in the province’s Kim Son District complained of stomach pain and diarrhea at around 3 a.m. on May 12. He was admitted to Kim Son General Hospital at 4 p.m. on the same day with severe dehydration and died nearly four hours later, according to the report. Subsequent tests found he had cholera. He was known to have a drinking problem. This is the first death to be recorded since acute diarrhea cases began to spread in northern and north-central regions early this month. The Bureau of Preventive Health Tuesday reported some cholera cases in Hung Yen and Vinh Phuc provinces but did not disclose exact numbers. This increased the number of localities with cholera patients to 13 cities and provinces nationwide. Earlier cases were found in the cities of Hanoi and Hai Phong; and the provinces of Bac Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nam Dinh, Hai Duong, Quang Ninh, Ninh Binh, Ha Nam, Hoa Binh and Thai Binh. The ministry has so far reported 53 cholera cases among the 534 cases of acute diarrhea recorded in these provinces. Twenty-two patients have been found with the disease since last Saturday, 16 of them from Bac Ninh Province. The cholera bacteria has been found in several areas in water bodies, raw vegetables and unhygienic food, the ministry reported but didn’t name specific locations. There might be more localities found with cholera, the ministry said. The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology has warned the latest cholera outbreak is of higher toxicity and that the changing weather with high humidity has facilitated outbreaks in many areas. The bacteria may exist in crustaceans, mollusks and algae as well as in human excrement, the institute reported. Nguyen Tran Hien, director of the institute, said they had found the bacteria in dog meat but warned that they may appear in any other food that is unhygienic. Cholera is an acute intestinal infection transmitted through water or food contaminated with the bacteria vibrio, causing diarrhea and dehydration that can lead to kidney failure and death if untreated. In related news, the institute said it has received testing kits for the influenza A (H1N1) virus from the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The kits have been used to quickly detect the virus with accurate results obtained between 24-48 hours, but no positive result has been recorded so far, Hien said. The Department of Health in Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday announced a hotline, 1089, to offer free consultancy on the influenza A (H1N1) virus in humans. The hotline will remain open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. – 5 p.m. Source: TN, Agencies

Vietnam still free from influenza A (H1 N1)

The Bureau of Preventive Health and Environment on Wednesday confirmed there has been no case of influenza A (H1N1), also known as swine flu, found in Vietnam.

The HCMC Health Department reported Wednesday five suspected people have tested negative for the virus. The passengers, including a South Korean, shared the flight OZ271 from the US to Vietnam that transited in South Korea, where a Vietnamese national, identified only as L.T.B, was quarantined after testing positive for the virus. Officials at the city’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport Wednesday found and quarantined three passengers arriving with high temperatures, including an Australian child and two Vietnamese citizens from Malaysia and Taiwan. Source: Thanh Nien

Chastity a thing of the past, say experts

Premarital sex is an inevitable and growing social trend as young Vietnamese vacillate between traditional values and the rapidly changing new ideas of an increasingly open society, a sociologist said.

Fewer people are choosing abstinence before marriage as Vietnamese society, particularly young people, becomes more open, said Dr. Trinh Thang at a conference in Hanoi on April 16.. Thang was speaking at a three-day conference titled “Contested Innocence – Sexual Agency in Public and Private Space,” which opened in Hanoi on April 16. The conference, held by the Institute for Social Development Studies and the International Association for the Study of Sexuality, Culture, and Society, brought together around 500 local and foreign experts to discuss different sex-related issues. Thang said there was a major generation gap between older and newer generations in their perceptions about premarital sex. The youth might accept what their parents and grandparents teach them about abstinence before marriage, but in fact they are likely to behave to the contrary while hiding the truth from their families, Thang said. Sociologist Vu Thanh Long concurred with Thang, saying young people, especially those in urban areas, have come to terms with premarital sex provided they’ve decided to marry each other later. Young people are caught in the throes of a “civil war” between preserving traditional values and fitting into a quickly changing and more open world around them, Long said. “It is time to keep up with a world that is changing and broadening its perceptions,” Thang said. “A love life with safe sex prior to wedlock should be accepted the same way we accept sex-free love before marriage,” he added. “Men should be taught about safe sex at school and should share these ideas with their partners because men often play the more active role in sex,” Thang said. Extramarital affairs “a social reality” Long said a survey he conducted of over 200 men in Hanoi, HCMC, and Can Tho indicated that men found adultery more “interesting” than sex in their marriage. Thirty percent of the men acknowledged they had engaged in at least one extramarital relationship. Many of them said they had been seeing sexual partners outside their marriage for over six months. A 2006 Family Health International paper on sexual decision making among men in urban Vietnam titled “Behind the Pleasure” found that 70-90 percent of men the 320 interviewees knew well had engaged in extramarital affairs. “Extramarital sex has become a real trend among men and even women,” Thang said. “This is a social reality.” Home is where the heart is Though Vietnamese people have become more open to extramarital sex, men still considered their adultery wrong and valued fidelity, experts said at the conference. But the same men said they could not resist it under certain circumstances. Dr. Thang said couples should live responsibly but sometimes had to accept the adulteries of their spouses. But whatever they do, the couples should set limits and never cross the line, Thang said. Reported by Nam Son

Acute diarrhea spreads to eighth province in north

A patient with acute diarrhea at Thanh Loc Commune Medical Center in Thanh Hoa Province’s Hau Loc District The northern Ninh Binh Province Friday reported that people were hospitalized with acute diarrhea to become the eighth locality in the northern and north-central regions to report a breakout.

The central Bureau of Preventive Health said some of the patients also tested positive for acute diarrhea but did not disclose how many. Hanoi, Hai Phong and the provinces of Nam Dinh, Bac Ninh, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong and Thanh Hoa earlier reported outbreaks of acute diarrhea. Acute diarrhea has been raging in the northern and north-central regions, with dozens of patients admitted to hospitals. The Bureau’s head, Nguyen Huy Nga, warned on Friday of a possible increase in the number of cases, pointing out that 50 to 70 percent of patients contracted the disease by eating dog meat. “The movement of people can facilitate the further spread of the diarrhea,” he said. Dr. Nguyen Tran Hien, director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said the institute is investigating the source of the vibrio cholera bacteria in the dog meat. “Some dogs may have eaten foods containing the bacteria,” he said. “Maintaining personnel hygiene and eating cooked and safe foods are basic requirements for fighting cholera.” The cholera pathogen has yet to be found in the water supply anywhere, he said, but many people discharge waste directly into water bodies, which threatens to spread the infectious disease. Enforcing prevention Bui Quang Anh, head of the Animal Health Bureau, said his agency has instructed provinces to monitor slaughter of dogs and cats and take strict action against violators. The Hanoi Center for Preventive Health on Friday warned residents against consuming foods with a high risk of bacteria infection. They also encouraged residents to wash their hands with soap. The warnings have kept most people away from dog-meat eateries in the capital. Nevertheless, the trade in dog meat was busy as usual at Y La and La Duong villages in Ha Dong District, Thanh Nien found Friday. Many slaughterhouses and small traders of dog meat do not practice hygiene, and pour waste from the slaughter directly into the sewerage. In Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of Health on Friday instructed all health agencies to enforce preventive measures against the possible spread of acute diarrhea from the north and north-central regions. The department advised residents to avoid eating shrimp paste, nem chua (traditional fermented meat roll) and tiet canh (blood pudding), and practice hygiene. The HCMC Preventive Health Center also instructed its agencies to test tap water all around the city and supply lime powder or chloramine B to residents in areas without tap water. It ordered all medical centers to immediately report any suspected cases of cholera. Reported by Thanh Nien staff

Middlemen grease healthcare wheels in HCMC hospitals

People queue up at 3 a.m. outside the Medical University Hospital in HCMC to be able to take the small numbers for a check-up. Most patients coming for a check-up at hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City have to arrive at night and wait until noon the next day unless they are willing to pay middlemen for timely or expedited access.

In fact those not availing of these special services could end up waiting yet another day. More than a hundred people typically wait outside the diagnostic center Medic in the city from 2:30 a.m. onwards to take numbers for an examination. A similar number can be seen outside the Medical University Hospital at around the same time for the same purpose. The patients, many of whom arrive in groups of 10 or 20 from the south-central provinces of Ninh Thuan, Phu Yen and Binh Dinh or the Mekong Delta’s Kien Giang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau provinces, queue up and wait until the hospital opens at 4 or 5 a.m. Then there is a rush to break in, a lot of jostling as they try to get their numbers, and some fighting over a place to take a nap before their turn comes. Middleman Nguyen Van Rua waits at the Tumor Hospital in HCMC on Tuesday to help patients have a quick check-up by paying the hospital officials At the Heart Institute, people line up for several hours outside, then an hour inside to be given their numbers and wait yet another hour to be examined. More often than not, the early birds are still left holding tokens numbered between 40 and 80 or thereabouts because the earlier numbers have already been collected by the middlemen. Yen from the Mekong Delta province of An Giang arrived at the city Medical University Hospital at 2 a.m. and managed to occupy one of the first spots in the line outside the gate and move in quickly. “I got 40. That’s lucky.” Another woman from the delta’s Soc Trang Province said she had been warned by a neighbor back home to arrive as early as possible. “I left home yesterday and waited here from the early hours but only got number 83.” Regular patient Mai Thanh Tra from Ben Tre Province of the delta said, “If you want an early check-up, you have to arrive at midnight.” Tra usually arrives at the hospital early in the morning and receives the check-up in the afternoon. A patient more than 70 years old from Long An Province that neighbors HCMC was not strong enough to join the race for numbers and had to accept the final position. “It is miserably hard to get a checkup.” A short-cut All these difficulties and inconveniences can be avoided if people know how to find the middlemen who have arrived early enough to obtain the small numbers or who know hospital officials well enough to get them an early check-up. Several middlemen frequent the Medical University Hospital as the place is usually crowded. If a patient pays VND250,000 (US$14), a general check-up with all the necessary procedures will be done in three hours without having to take a number. A quick ultrasound scan will cost an extra VND100,000 ($5.62). Frequent customers only need to call the middlemen from home. When they arrive at the hospital, they will be led straight to the check-up room, breaking the queue, and receive the result with the prescription in less than one hour. More than ten middlemen wander around the hospital every day and each of them helps around ten people set seen quickly. Sometimes patients waiting in the queue shout at the hospital officials after waiting for a long time and not hearing their number called. Yet the middlemen are not the only ones to blame for causing such long waiting times. They work hard, leading the patients from room to room and negotiating with the doctors to get the work done. They get paid by the patients but “we cannot pocket all that money,” said a middleman at the Medical University Hospital. Part of the money has to be given to the doctors who help with the “express” check-up. A middleman at HCMC Tumor Hospital told his customer who was bargaining last Wednesday: “I only earn several dozen thousand dong and the rest is shared with the hospital officials.” “That’s the rule,” agreed another middleman at the hospital. The middlemen refused to introduce themselves to the customers. When asked for names, they would say: “Just come here and you will see me.” At the Dermatology Hospital on Nguyen Thong Street, middlemen persuade patients to buy medicine at private clinics nearby by saying things like “The hospital is not examining today” or “The hospital is now crowded and it’s quicker if you go somewhere else.” The middlemen here are overzealous in exhorting patients to accept their services. If a passer-by were to slow down in front of the hospital, she or he will quickly be pulled to the pavement and the special services offered somewhat aggressively. Reported by Thanh Nien staff

What's in a cough? 20,000 viruses

The next time you cough or sneeze, there is good reason to cover your mouth.

As many as 20,000 viruses are expelled in an average cough, which may be sufficient to infect many people - particularly those who are not vaccinated. Julian Tang, a consultant from Singapore's National University Hospital's Division of Microbiology, said as many as 3,000 tiny droplets are produced in a standard cough. Using previous research on influenza viral loads in nasal secretions, and assuming that each coughed airborne droplet measures between 1-5 micrometers in diameter, that adds up to many, many viruses in a single cough. A micrometer, or micron, is one millionth of a meter, or one thousandth of a millimeter. "Based on this research and assuming about 3,000 droplets are produced per cough, this range of influenza viruses produced per cough is about 195-19,500," Tang told Reuters. He added that this figure of 3,000 droplets refers to those that remain suspended in the air for considerable periods - long enough to infect people. "This (3,000) is also the number of droplets estimated to remain suspended in air for long periods - so-called droplet nuclei. Larger droplets carrying influenza viruses may also be produced during a cough, but these will fall to the ground relatively quickly and will no longer be considered to be significant in the airborne transmission of influenza," he said. With a new H1N1 influenza virus spreading around the world, governments in many countries have revived advertisements entreating people to observe personal hygiene. In Indonesia, a slick TV advertisement features a young woman remonstrating a suitor at a village sing-a-long, telling him to get to a health clinic because "that's not a normal cough." Aimed at the poorly-educated masses, the adverts are set to a dangdut (traditional pop music) theme and feature an easy-to-remember slogan and theme song. However, experts are uncertain as to what constitutes an infective dose when it comes to influenza viruses. Infective doses But as a guide, previous research has found that it takes just one to 10 organisms to cause viral hemorrhagic fevers, and 10-100 organisms to cause viral encephalitis. Tang said an infective dose of flu virus would depend on a variety of factors, such as the constitution of people breathing in these droplets and whether they had been vaccinated. "It is difficult to give an exact number for the infectious dose - and this may even differ for the same individual throughout the year. But probably for immune people, the infectious dose will be higher than for non-immune people - hence, the benefits of vaccination," Tang said. "Those previously vaccinated or naturally infected to the same or similar virus can develop a rapid antibody response and clear the virus in the respiratory tract before the virus can take hold and cause disease." "(But) even immune hosts may develop symptoms if the viral load exposure is sufficiently high," he added. Doctors say most airborne flu transmissions occur within a one meter range, although it can also be transmitted by direct contact with contaminated objects, like toys. "Wearing masks may well help to reduce the transmission of these infections, as well as covering the mouth with your hand or a tissue when coughing or sneezing - simply by using a barrier to prevent dissemination of the virus," Tang said. Source: Reuters

Number of acute diarrhea cases soars in Hanoi

The National Institute of Infectious and Tropical Diseases (NIITD) in Hanoi has seen an increase over the past three days in the number of acute diarrhea sufferers, with about 20-25 new cases admitted each day.

The institute’s Deputy Director Nguyen Hong Ha said the previous average number was just 5-6 cases each day. Ha said there are not enough beds for all patients at NIITD and many have to share a single bed with another person. More than 80 acute diarrhea patients were undergoing treatment at the institute on Wednesday. Among them, more than 30 have tested positive for cholera. Also on Wednesday, Hanoi Department of Health Director Le Anh Tuan said since April 15, 182 acute diarrhea cases have been reported in the city as serious and three tested positive for cholera. Reported by Nam Son-Minh Ngoc

WHO hails Vietnam efforts to fight influenza A (H1N1)

Vietnam has made remarkable efforts, both preventive and preparatory, to fight the possible spread of the influenza A (H1N1) virus, an official of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.

Meeting with Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu in Hanoi Tuesday, Shin Young Soo, WHO’s regional director, also praised Vietnam’s efforts to improve healthcare in the country. Vietnam is among the countries that have faced threats from several infectious diseases, including AIDS, SARS, bird flu (H5N1) and influenza A (H1N1), he said. Soo said WHO was committed to continuing its support for the medical system in Vietnam and sharing information on preventing and fighting infectious diseases. Trieu expressed high appreciation of WHO’s support and cooperation over the past few years and reiterated Vietnam’s determination to improve healthcare services in the country as well as to fight the spread of influenza A (H1N1), formerly called swine flu. Border vigil The Ministry of Health has said it would work with the Ho Chi Minh City administration and the city’s Department of Health in enforcing preventive measures at border areas. The HCMC Department of Health Tuesday reported a total of 59,278 visitors arriving at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport since April 26, of whom 4,442 were from the flu infected zones. All ten visitors arriving with high temperatures during the past week have been found clear of the influenza A (H1N1) virus, including two visitors from Hong Kong who tested positive for the normal H3 flu virus. Le Anh Tuan, director of the Hanoi Department of Health, Tuesday said three hospitals and several medical centers have been asked to prepare around 400 beds just in case the virus is detected in the capital city. Da Nang City Department of Health Tuesday reported they have received 1,000 masks from the Ministry of Health. The central city is also taking steps to respond quickly to any outbreak of the flu. Reported by Thanh Nien staff

Summer blood donation campaign set to open

A nationwide summer campaign to encourage people to donate blood launched on May 8 expects to collect 140,000 units that will benefit around 100,000 patients in the next three months.

The Vietnam Red Cross Association, the Central Blood Transfusion and Hematology Center and the Hanoi Youth Volunteers Association for Humanitarian Blood Donation Campaigns are organizing the campaign. A spokesperson said it would send out a message to the public to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Red Cross and Red Crescent on May 8. The rector of the Central Blood Transfusion and Hematology Center told a media briefing Tuesday that nearly 3,000 volunteers have already registered to work for the campaign that would counsel 2 million people on blood donation issues and encourage at least 196,000 to donate blood. Source: VNA

Dengue fever ravishes southern Vietnam

More than 13,000 people in southern Vietnam have contracted dengue fever already this year, and 11 of them had died as of May 3, the director of the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City said Friday.

The south, where the disease is far more prevalent, accounts for 84.4 percent of the current number of dengue fever cases nationwide, Dr. Tran Ngoc Huu told a press conference. Dengue is no longer restricted to the rainy season and could strike at any time of the year, he said. Unsurprisingly, it is among the top five infectious diseases with the highest numbers of cases and deaths in Vietnam. The poor drainage in slum areas, a result of the country’s urbanization and industrialization, along with the warm climate create the ideal conditions for dengue fever to break out. There is no commercial vaccine to protect against dengue yet, but several vaccines are at the experimental stage, Huu said. The Pasteur Institute is working with Sanofi-Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi-Aventis Group, to carry out clinical studies of Sanofi’s tetravalent dengue vaccine, which is also being trialed in Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore. If the trials yield good results, a novel vaccine against dengue will be available in 2015 or 2016, said Wartel Nguyen N.T. Anh, SanofiPasteur’s regional medical director of clinical development. The mosquito-borne disease, which is caused by any of four viruses, infects an estimated 230 million people annually and is a potential threat to almost half the world's population, according to Sanofi-Aventis. Reported by Van Khoa

Vietnam remains clear of influenza A

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

WHO hails Vietnam efforts to fight influenza A (H1N1)

Vietnam has made remarkable efforts, both preventive and preparatory, to fight the possible spread of the influenza A (H1N1) virus, an official of the World Health Organization (WHO) said Tuesday.

Meeting with Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu in Hanoi Tuesday, Shin Young Soo, WHO’s regional director, also praised Vietnam’s efforts to improve healthcare in the country. Vietnam is among the countries that have faced threats from several infectious diseases, including AIDS, SARS, bird flu (H5N1) and influenza A (H1N1), he said. Soo said WHO was committed to continuing its support for the medical system in Vietnam and sharing information on preventing and fighting infectious diseases. Trieu expressed high appreciation of WHO’s support and cooperation over the past few years and reiterated Vietnam’s determination to improve healthcare services in the country as well as to fight the spread of influenza A (H1N1), formerly called swine flu. Border vigil The Ministry of Health has said it would work with the Ho Chi Minh City administration and the city’s Department of Health in enforcing preventive measures at border areas. The HCMC Department of Health Tuesday reported a total of 59,278 visitors arriving at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport since April 26, of whom 4,442 were from the flu infected zones. All ten visitors arriving with high temperatures during the past week have been found clear of the influenza A (H1N1) virus, including two visitors from Hong Kong who tested positive for the normal H3 flu virus. Le Anh Tuan, director of the Hanoi Department of Health, Tuesday said three hospitals and several medical centers have been asked to prepare around 400 beds just in case the virus is detected in the capital city. Da Nang City Department of Health Tuesday reported they have received 1,000 masks from the Ministry of Health. The central city is also taking steps to respond quickly to any outbreak of the flu. Reported by Thanh Nien staff

Ministry warns of infectious diseases during seasonal change

A patient with a virus-caused fever is examined at a health facility in Hanoi. Health authorities have warned of infectious diseases that often spread early in the rainy season. The Ministry of Health has called for vigilance against infectious diseases that spread when the seasons change, even as the nation remains focused on preventing the spread of the influenza A (H1N1) virus.

The call comes as hospitals in Hanoi and the northern province of Ha Nam report a significant increase in meningitis among children admitted over the last month. Doctors have asked parents to take their children to the hospital as soon as they show symptoms like fever or headaches, so they can be treated quickly. A delay in hospitalization could either prove fatal or have serious after-effects, they warn. Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu on Wednesday instructed hospitals and medical centers to enforce preventive measures against infectious diseases. His order came during a meeting with health authorities in southern provinces on preventing the influenza A (H1N1) virus. Nguyen Tien Dung, head of the children’s ward of the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, Thursday said the number of children contracting viral fevers has increased in recent days. “These children make up two-thirds of the number of patients being examined here,” he said. “Many families had all members infected with the disease.” Dung said the extended seasons-changing period this year has facilitated the multiplication of viruses, mainly those affecting the respiratory system. The Bach Mai Hospital has examined between 70 and 80 children every day for the last three weeks, Tuoi Tre Newspaper quoted the hospital’s Nguyen The Thanh as saying. “Most patients were examined and prescribed medicines, and we couldn’t admit all of them if necessary,” he said. Nguyen Quoc Tuan, another doctor at Bach Mai Hospital, said adults have also been infected with viral fevers and several people from the same residential areas have contracted them. The Saint Paul Hospital also reported they have examined between 500 and 600 children, with a majority found with virus-caused fever. Hoang Minh Thu of Saint Paul Hospital said first-stage symptoms of the viral fever could be as simple as a slight fever and tiredness, but children should be examined at the hospital to ensure it is not the dangerous meningitis or Japanese encephalitis fevers. Thanh said an average of between three and five children examined at Bach Mai Hospital every day have contracted meningitis over the last month or so. He warned parents to take the children to hospital if they show symptoms of headache, nausea and vomiting. In nearby Ha Nam Province, doctors have also warned of increasing numbers of children examined at hospital for viral fevers, VnExpress reported. Dang Anh Hung of the Ha Nam General Hospital said this began a month ago when many children were brought to the hospital with high fever and vomiting. The increased number of patients has also overloaded local hospitals, where up to four patients have had to share a bed in some instances. Doctors at the Ha Nam General Hospital said they’ve had to admit more than double the number of patients they have beds for, and the overloading has caused difficulties in offering proper treatment. Dr. Tran Van Anh of the hospital said the infectious diseases ward has admitted 549 patients with fever since early this year. A new strain of virus this year has caused headaches in patients besides the symptom of high temperature, he added. Source: Thanh Nien, Agencies

Vietnam on full alert for swine flu

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ordered local leaders and agencies to stand vigilant against swine flu as travel increases for the Liberation Day holiday weekend.

Dung directed the Ministry of Health to send agents to airports and border gates. The Ministry of Health Wednesday told travelers to stay away from countries affected by swine flu, AFP reported. "People should not go to the epidemic-hit areas," it said in a statement. Mexico has reported seven swine flu deaths in humans, while several other nations have confirmed human cases but no fatalities. "If you are obliged to go to these areas, follow preventive measures strictly under the guidance of medical workers there," the ministry said. Vietnam raised its swine flu alert to level 4 Tuesday, warning that the threat of “community level outbreaks” could rise at anytime. The ministry has told medical officials throughout the country to enhance early detection measures and prepare to treat anyone infected. Local preparations Head of the Hanoi Department of Health Le Anh Tuan said the department had set up a hotline at (04) 3 843 7022 to receive information about suspected swine flu cases. Tuan said three hospitals in the city - Dong Da, Bac Thang Long and Duc Giang - had prepared 100 beds for quarantined treatment. Tuan said every passenger at the Noi Bai International Airport must have their temperature measured. The department trained city health officials in dealing with possible swine flu outbreaks Wednesday. The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health asked every hospital and local administration to set up isolated rooms for inspection and treatment of the virus Wednesday. Major hospitals including the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, along with the municipal Center for Preventive Health, must organize mobile preventive teams to deal with outbreaks and assist neighboring areas, the department said in a statement. The department’s Phan Van Nghiem said two hotlines at (08) 3 930 9981 and 0908 198 538 were ready to receive any information concerning swine flu. The Ministry of Health’s inspectors went to inspect preparedness in the central city of Da Nang Wednesday. Health officials are now stationed at Da Nang International Airport and Tien Sa Port, the third largest seaport in Vietnam after those in Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong. Health Ministry’s animal health officials in Da Nang have cooperated with Da Nang Customs to test shipments of animal products before they are imported to the country. Treatment guideline The ministry Wednesday also issued the treatment protocol for Type A H1N1 swine flu. Nguyen Van Kinh from the National Institute of Infectious and Tropical Diseases said the protocol had been built based on experiences dealing with other fatal Type A influenzas like bird flu. Kinh said the disease had normal flu-like symptoms such as runny nose, sore throat, cough, headache, aching joints, nasal congestion, general fatigue and lack of appetite plus some graver signs - sudden fever above 38 degrees Celsius, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Nguyen Tran Hien, director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, said Tuesday that scientists at the institute were able to identify the new strain of H1N1 swine flu virus. Reported by Thanh Nien staff

More than 100 new diarrhea cases reported in Dong Nai

It began Monday with four officials and 12 jail detainees suffering from diarrhea in the southern province of Dong Nai’s Bien Hoa Town.

The next day, 78 new cases cropped up, and the numbers jumped to 12 and 82 respectively, the town police said Wednesday. The police have asked the town’s Preventive Health Center to continue to spray chemicals to kill bacteria and to take measures to stop a diarrhea outbreak at the jail’s quarters where detainees are kept. On April 20, a diarrhea outbreak affecting 513 residents hit Xuan Tam and Xuan Thanh communes in Xuan Loc District. It was brought under control six days later. Pasteur Institute Ho Chi Minh City on Monday came to the communes to take samples for testing. Reported by Hoang Tuan

Vietnam remains flu-free but wary

Passport officers at HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport wear face masks Friday. Vietnam will brook no relaxed vigilance or any shortage of health equipment meant for fighting influenza A (H1N1) and is preparing for the worst, government officials said Friday.

From April 30, the World Health Organization has referred to the new influenza virus as influenza A (H1N1). Health authorities should not just focus on foreign tourists entering the country but keep a close eye on potentially dangerous areas in Vietnam as well, Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu said Friday. Trieu was speaking at a meeting to discuss measures to stop- the spread of the influenza A. No cases of the disease have been detected in the thousands of international tourists arriving at Vietnam’s airports in recent days, the Health Ministry confirmed. During the last 10 days, every foreign tourist and Vietnamese person coming to Vietnam from Mexico has been healthy, the ministry said. But Minister Trieu said Friday that the influenza A would be even more dangerous than Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), an often fatal flu-like disease which killed five people in Vietnam and nearly 800 worldwide in 2003. Trieu urged health facilities nationwide to beef up their monitoring of suspected influenza A infection. He said the ministry would punish any clinic responsible for discharging patients infected by the virus. Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology Nguyen Tran Hien agreed that schools and companies should be placed under scrutiny since they would be very vulnerable to a possible outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus. Minister Trieu also instructed central hospitals to ensure a sufficient supply of respirators. HCMC braces for the worst Ho Chi Minh City’s Health Department said at a meeting Friday that it had printed 500,000 health-status forms for foreigners arriving at Tan Son Nhat International Airport. Screening of their body temperatures would continue as normal, the department said. Speaking at the meeting Friday, city vice chairman Nguyen Thanh Tai said that, in addition to keeping a close watch on the development of the H1N1 flu virus, health authorities should not be complacent about diarrhea or food hygiene. He warned the city would bear the brunt of any pandemic. The city should be preparing for the worst, Tai said. Source: TN, agencies