will be intensified at and hospitals to early detect people suspected to contract deadly virus Ebola. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Screenings will be intensified
at border gates and hospitals to early detect people suspected to contract
Ebola, particularly those who return from affected areas.
The information was heard during a meeting held by the
Ministry of Health’s Vietnam Public Health Emergency Operation Centre (PHEOC
Vietnam) on May 31 to assess the risk of Ebola outbreak in Vietnam and seek proper
preventive measures.
The meeting concluded that the overall risk of the
Ebola virus spreading into Vietnam is low as most of Ebola cases were
discovered in Congo’s very remote areas and there are very few trade and
exchange activities between Vietnam and Congo. However, there is still the
possibility of cases involving people entering Vietnam from the affected
region.
To prevent a possible epidemic, hospitals were tasked
to strengthen infection prevention and control and to prepare an isolation area
exclusively for Ebola suspected cases.
The Ministry of Health will continue liaising with the
WHO to keep a close watch on the Ebola epidemic globally and at the same time,
work closely with relevant ministries and state bodies to share information on
the epidemic, and entry and exit of travellers from the affected areas in order
to take appropriate and effective preventive actions.
Ebola is a highly infectious disease that spreads
through contact with even a small amount of bodily fluid of an infected person.
Its early flu-like symptoms are not always easy to detect.
According to the International Health Regulations National
Focal Point (IHRNFP) and representatives from the World Health Organisation
(WHO), the outbreak of Ebola virus disease has returned to Congo since the
beginning of April.
By May 29, a cumulative total of 58 Ebola cases, including 27 deaths, have been
reported. Most of the cases were found in the remote areas of Bikoro, Iboko and
Wangata, far away from the capital city of Kinshasa, where travelling is not
easy with very few visitors.
There is
no case reported in neighbouring countries and other parts of the world.
The WHO
has convened an emergency committee to discuss the epidemic, assessing that the
Ebola outbreak in Congo to be at level 3, the highest alert level. Though the level indicates there is a high risk of the virus spreading
to nearby countries, it is insufficient for the WHO to announce a public health
emergency of international concern (PHEIC). The world health body also stressed
that it was “particularly important there should be no international travel and
trade restrictions”.
The current outbreak – the ninth to hit Congo since
was identified in 1976 – involves the same strain of the virus that
struck three West African countries in 2013-15 and sparked an international
panic. It went on to kill more than 11,300 people in the deadliest ever Ebola
epidemic.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
