Nearly 45,000 individuals arriving in Vietnam by air, sea and land fromcountries affected by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus(MERS-CoV) have been screened by body-temperature scanners, a healthofficial said.
MERS-CoV, first reported in SaudiArabia in 2012, belongs to the family of corona viruses, which alsoincludes SARS, the disease that struck Asia in 2003. It has a muchhigher fatality rate than SARS and there is no cure or vaccine.
The deadly virus is currently found in over 26countries around the world, with nearly 1,200 cases and 434 fatalities,including 175 cases reported in the Republic of Korea (RoK) as of June24.
Vietnam has so far recorded no MERS-CoV cases,but the country faces a high risk due to current trade and tourism tieswith the RoK, Thailand and Middle Eastern countries, the Head of theMinistry of Health’s Department for Preventive Medicine, Tran Dac Phu,told a tele-conference with the Steering Committee for Prevention andControl of Infectious Diseases in Hanoi on June 25.
The Ministry of Health ordered the installation of 45 remotetemperature scanners at border gates and international airports andrequested those travelling to Vietnam from affected countries to fillout medical declaration forms.
The sector is alsoactively monitoring cases of respiratory illness with unknown causes andMERS-CoV-like symptoms, as well as individuals travelling from infectedareas for 14 days upon their arrival in Vietnam.
Since the beginning of the year, all 65 samples have tested negative for the virus.
According to Phu, eight hospitals and medical institutions are capableof testing for the virus, including the National Institute of Hygieneand Epidemiology, the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases, thePasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City, the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital ofTropical Diseases, the Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang, the CentralHighlands Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Hue CentralHospital and the Can Tho Central Hospital.-VNA
Theministry has made a list of hospitals that have quarantine and isolationfacilities if any cases of the disease are detected, while alsodevising a plan to expand isolation facilities, open field hospitals ifnecessary, and train medical staff on care and treatment.
In the future, precautionary measures will continue to be applied,with a focus on monitoring industrial and processing zones, hotels andmedical stations.
Rapid-response teams will be strengthened, while the public will be made aware of preventive measures via the media.
At the event, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien called upon medicalstations to examine and treat patients with respiratory illnesses insecluded rooms.
The most important steps are earlydetection, isolated treatment, and the prevention of contamination frompatients-to-patients, as well as from patients to medical staff andtheir relatives.
Appropriate training sessions must be conducted and disinfectant sprays must be used in hospitals nationwide, she said.
MERS-CoV, first reported in SaudiArabia in 2012, belongs to the family of corona viruses, which alsoincludes SARS, the disease that struck Asia in 2003. It has a muchhigher fatality rate than SARS and there is no cure or vaccine.
The deadly virus is currently found in over 26countries around the world, with nearly 1,200 cases and 434 fatalities,including 175 cases reported in the Republic of Korea (RoK) as of June24.
Vietnam has so far recorded no MERS-CoV cases,but the country faces a high risk due to current trade and tourism tieswith the RoK, Thailand and Middle Eastern countries, the Head of theMinistry of Health’s Department for Preventive Medicine, Tran Dac Phu,told a tele-conference with the Steering Committee for Prevention andControl of Infectious Diseases in Hanoi on June 25.
The Ministry of Health ordered the installation of 45 remotetemperature scanners at border gates and international airports andrequested those travelling to Vietnam from affected countries to fillout medical declaration forms.
The sector is alsoactively monitoring cases of respiratory illness with unknown causes andMERS-CoV-like symptoms, as well as individuals travelling from infectedareas for 14 days upon their arrival in Vietnam.
Since the beginning of the year, all 65 samples have tested negative for the virus.
According to Phu, eight hospitals and medical institutions are capableof testing for the virus, including the National Institute of Hygieneand Epidemiology, the National Hospital of Tropical Diseases, thePasteur Institute of Ho Chi Minh City, the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital ofTropical Diseases, the Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang, the CentralHighlands Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the Hue CentralHospital and the Can Tho Central Hospital.-VNA
Theministry has made a list of hospitals that have quarantine and isolationfacilities if any cases of the disease are detected, while alsodevising a plan to expand isolation facilities, open field hospitals ifnecessary, and train medical staff on care and treatment.
In the future, precautionary measures will continue to be applied,with a focus on monitoring industrial and processing zones, hotels andmedical stations.
Rapid-response teams will be strengthened, while the public will be made aware of preventive measures via the media.
At the event, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien called upon medicalstations to examine and treat patients with respiratory illnesses insecluded rooms.
The most important steps are earlydetection, isolated treatment, and the prevention of contamination frompatients-to-patients, as well as from patients to medical staff andtheir relatives.
Appropriate training sessions must be conducted and disinfectant sprays must be used in hospitals nationwide, she said.
