VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam is not eligible for bio-security to test Ebola so the country will send samples of suspected cases to the US, said Professor Nguyen Tran Hien, director of the Central Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology.
According to the announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO), the risk of Ebola virus transmission from person to person across borders is high for the countries bordering the Ebola-hit countries in Africa such as Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. However, the risk is average for other countries in Africa and low for other continents.
Professor Hien said that the risk of Ebola entering Vietnam is low because the transmission mechanism of Ebola is direct contact with blood, secretions, and body fluids of patients or infected animals.
“The virus is not transmitted through the respiratory or gastrointestinal system (unless eating uncooked infected meat). Only patients with symptoms are contagious. However, male patients after recovery can carry the virus in semen for seven weeks,” Professor Hien said.
Technically, Prof. Hien said that Vietnam can afford to diagnose Ebola virus but does not have sufficient equipment for biosafety to perform Ebola test in Vietnam. The tests must be carried out in a laboratory with the level four – the highest level of biosafety — while Vietnam’s laboratories are only three level. Only nine countries worldwide have laboratories that are eligible for diagnosis of this dangerous virus.
The sample must be taken under a very strict process. Vietnam has reached an agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States to send samples of suspected cases to this lab.
Since March this year, the number of Ebola cases in Africa has increased sharply in both number and geographic scope. Starting in Guinea with 49 cases and 29 deaths, it has gradually spread to other countries such as Nigeria, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The number of cases and deaths has increased weekly. At present there are nearly 1,800 cases, including 200 medical staff.
On August 8, the WHO declared a global state of emergency for Ebola epidemic, when the death toll rose to approximately 1,000 and the epidemic map had Nigeria.
Vietnam has not yet recorded any cases, but it has deployed special measures to control the disease.
On August 13 the Ministry of Health will train staff of hospitals in the northern region on the prevention and treatment of Ebola. A similar course will be held in HCM City for hospitals in the southern region on August 15.
Drastic measures taken to keep out deadly Ebola virus
Vietnam is doing all it can to prevent the Ebola virus from entering the country, said deputy minister of health Nguyen Thanh Long at a meeting of the National Steering Committee for Ebola Virus Prevention in Hanoi on August 11.
“No case has been detected so far in our country. However, there is a risk of the virus entering Vietnam through foreign visitors, especially those returning from West Africa,” Long said.
Even though the World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared Ebola an international public health emergency,Long said that people should not worry too much about contracting the disease.
“It is lucky that trade exchange between Vietnam and the four countries with Ebola in West Africa is not high as the virus is transmitted by direct contact with tissue, blood and bodily fluids of infected animals or people,” he said.
The deputy health minister warned that Vietnamese people should not go to Africa, especially areas where Ebola has broken out, and advised people to practice good personal hygiene.
Currently there are 15 Vietnamese citizens in Liberia, including 10 in Ebola-stricken areas. However, all of them remain in good health, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Prime Minister asked provinces and cities to draw up disease prevention plans and set up quarantine areas. Health quarantine and supervision measures have been strengthened at all international border gates, where passengers arriving from West African areas with Ebola outbreaks will fill out medical declaration forms.
Vietnam to halt tours
The Vietnam Tourism Administration has advised all operators to temporary halt all tours to countries heavily affected by the Ebola virus such as Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
The administration has called on tour operators to provide enough information to tourists and travellers on preventing Ebola and following medical check-ups as requested by quarantine and health officials.
All hotels and guest houses must increasingly monitor the health of those who stay there, especially international tourists, and provide timely information to relevant agencies if there are any suspected cases.
Ebola has killed nearly 970 people and officials believe there have been suspected cases in Southeast Asia but so far, there have been no official confirmations.
VNN/VNS
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