VN confirms first H1N1 case, tightening pandemic prevention

VGP – After confirming the first A/H1N1 case in Việt Nam, the Ministry of Health (MoH) this afternoon ordered local authorities throughout the country to take urgent measures to prevent the pandemic outbreak in the community.

May 31, 2009 5:40 PM GMT+7

Tightening close supervision at border gates to prevent the outbreak of A/H1N1 in Việt Nam

The first positive H1N1 case, confirmed today by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), is a 23-year-old student who came back to Việt Nam from the US on May 26.

He is now being isolated and treated at the Tropical Diseases Hospital in Hồ Chí Minh City, said the MoH, adding that all the 189 passengers on the same flight (UA 869) from Hong Kong to the City on May 26 are enlisted and closely monitored.

To prevent a pandemic outbreak, the MoH asked 24 localities having their citizens aboard the flight to urgently supervise those people and their relatives within seven days and make daily report to the Ministry.

The MoH also recommended that people should wash their hands with soaps and antiseptic solutions while regularly cleaning living and working environment.

Especially, people are encouraged to make phone calls to their provincial health departments or NIHE/Pasteur and the MoH when discovering many people having flu or acute pneumonia.

The MoH is also closely cooperating with the Việt Nam-based office of the World Health Organization to thoroughly keep track of the situation and prepare measures to address a possible outbreak.

By Hải Minh