Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) (VNA) – The Ho Chi Minh City Department of
Health has activated its surveillance system for early detection of all potentially
suspected infections of (), said Le Hong
Nga, deputy head of the municipal Centre for Disease Control ().
The move came after a warning by the local Pasteur Institute
on a death from the disease in a Cambodian province bordering Vietnam, Nga
noted.
According to her, the system targets all clusters of
respiratory illnesses in the community or those of severe respiratory
infections with a history of exposure to poultry. To comply with the department’s
request, all cases of severe pneumonia of unknown cause in the area will be
sampled for diagnostic testing.
Poultry and waterfowl farms, wholesale poultry markets, slaughtering units and border gates are set to be increasingly
inspected.
Nga said huge traffic flows between the southern metropolis and other
provinces and cities, coupled with its large number of border
gates, pose a very high risk of the disease invasion.
The municipal Hospital for Tropical Diseases is now ready in
terms of facilities, medicine, and personnel to receive patients infected with
the virus.
A/H5N1 is a dangerous disease that starts in poultry and
spreads to humans through contact. It has a rapid progression and currently
there is no specific treatment and no vaccine for humans. The mortality rate among people infected is up to 70% when it turns to pneumonia./.
Source: VietnamPlus
