Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien on August 17 inspected the prevention of deadly Ebola virus disease at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, a major port of entry, in Ho Chi Minh City.
The capacity of relevant agencies at Tan Son Nhat airport was tested through a simulation during which quarantine staff members detected a passenger with fever.
Minister Tien said the airport sees the largest number of those travelling between Africa and Vietnam, and such a drill will help relevant agencies review their performance in preventing diseases and better gear up for outbreaks.
She noted that in case Ebola patients are detected, HCM City needs to swiftly draw up plans on mobile hospitals.
Meanwhile, healthcare stations near Tan Son Nhat airport such as those in Tan Binh and Binh Tan districts must have isolation sections and stand ready to receive patients, Tien added.
Nguyen Hong Tam, Deputy Director of the city’s International Health Quarantine Centre, said since August 11, his centre has monitored the body temperature of all passengers entering Vietnam.
It has also applied health declaration to those travelling through four West African countries where Ebola virus disease is raging, namely Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, he added.
Thirty three people, including one from an Ebola-affected country, have declared their state of health at Tan Son Nhat airport so far. None of them showed symptoms of the disease.
Ebola virus is caught by close contact with an infected person through bodily fluids such as sweat, blood and tissue.
The World Health Organisation on August 15 reported that 1,145 people died of the disease.-VNA
The capacity of relevant agencies at Tan Son Nhat airport was tested through a simulation during which quarantine staff members detected a passenger with fever.
Minister Tien said the airport sees the largest number of those travelling between Africa and Vietnam, and such a drill will help relevant agencies review their performance in preventing diseases and better gear up for outbreaks.
She noted that in case Ebola patients are detected, HCM City needs to swiftly draw up plans on mobile hospitals.
Meanwhile, healthcare stations near Tan Son Nhat airport such as those in Tan Binh and Binh Tan districts must have isolation sections and stand ready to receive patients, Tien added.
Nguyen Hong Tam, Deputy Director of the city’s International Health Quarantine Centre, said since August 11, his centre has monitored the body temperature of all passengers entering Vietnam.
It has also applied health declaration to those travelling through four West African countries where Ebola virus disease is raging, namely Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria, he added.
Thirty three people, including one from an Ebola-affected country, have declared their state of health at Tan Son Nhat airport so far. None of them showed symptoms of the disease.
Ebola virus is caught by close contact with an infected person through bodily fluids such as sweat, blood and tissue.
The World Health Organisation on August 15 reported that 1,145 people died of the disease.-VNA
