Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City has moved to strengthen surveillance and preventive measures against the potential spread of Ebola following the World Health Organization’s classification of the recent outbreak of its Bundibugyo strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda as a public health emergency of international concern.
Although the WHO has not recommended imposing international travel or trade restrictions on affected countries, the municipal Department of Health on May 19 issued a directive urging preventive health units not to become complacent in disease monitoring and response efforts.
Under the directive, the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Disease Control has been instructed to tighten surveillance at border gates by monitoring incoming travellers for unusual health symptoms, carefully reviewing epidemiological factors, travel histories and accommodation records, and coordinating closely with aviation, maritime and international health quarantine authorities to promptly detect suspected cases.
The city’s health sector has also been asked to ensure readiness in procedures for handling, isolating and safely transporting suspected Ebola patients if detected.
According to the department, early detection of suspected infections remains the most critical factor in current border surveillance operations. At the same time, hospitals and healthcare facilities are continuing training programmes and updating procedures related to infection control, the use of personal protective equipment and the handling of suspected Ebola cases to ensure preparedness should the disease enter Vietnam.
The department said it would continue monitoring the latest recommendations from the WHO and Vietnam’s Ministry of Health while regularly assessing risks in order to implement appropriate response measures to safeguard public health.
Following the WHO announcement, the Ministry of Health also advised the public not to panic over Ebola, while recommending that travellers returning from affected areas monitor their health for 21 days.
Ebola virus disease is believed to spread from its natural host, fruit bats, to humans. After an incubation period of between two and 21 days, infected individuals may develop symptoms including fever, fatigue and muscle pain, which can rapidly progress to vomiting, diarrhoea, liver failure and kidney failure. The virus spreads through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of infected individuals, including contact during burial rituals involving the deceased./.
VNA
