Almost 23,000 tourists, including one from Liberia – the country most affected by the Ebola virus in West Africa - were recorded at the Vietnamese-Cambodian border crossings at Moc Bai and Xa Mat in southern Tay Ninh province between August 12-25.

Moc Bai health workers and immigration officials requested the Liberian national to complete a medical declaration form and informed the health department in Ho Chi Minh City, where the visitor will remain under strict observation for three weeks.

The provincial health department has also been keeping a close eye on the health status of a Nigerian national - residing in Trang Bang district - since his arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

Director of the provincial Centre for International Health Quarantine Tran Phuoc Doan said suspected Ebola cases will involve quarantine at border gates’ isolation wards and referrals to the nearest medical centres for blood samples and further tests.

In addition to equipment for taking body temperature measurements, the border gates have also been equipped with personal protection gear and sterilisation chemicals.

Ebola is spread through the exchange of bodily fluids, such as sweat and blood, between an infected and non-infected person. Currently, no cure or vaccine is available, according to the World Health Organisation.

The virus has spread relentlessly throughout Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, with Nigeria now also affected, despite showing some progress in containing the epidemic. By August 22, 1,427 people had succumbed to the Ebola virus.

To date, Vietnam has no reported cases of Ebola infections.-VNA