The World Health Organisation (WHO) Chief, Margaret Chan, on June 11 decided to raise the alert for flu A (H1N1) to the maximum level six, declaring it a super flu pandemic.

The decision was made amid growing evidence the virus, which originated in Mexico two months ago, was now being widely transmitted between humans in Asia, Europe as well as the Americas .

WHO said it was in “close dialogue” with flu vaccine makers and it believed the firms would work “to ensure the largest possible supply of pandemic vaccine in the months to come”.

Talking with Vietnam News Agency, Dr. Nguyen Huy Nga, Head of the Vietnam Health Preventive Department, said so far, the outbreak of the epidemic in Vietnam remained under control.

However, he pointed to the fact that a wide spread of the disease in the community would be hardly avoidable.

The health preventive chief noted that the country needs to shift its focus from monitoring and isolating flu cases to raising the effectiveness of treatment and care.

Special care should be given to vulnerable people, including children, women and old people, easing fears in the community, Dr. Nga said.

The same day, the Health Ministry reported that seven more people, including one in Hanoi and six in Ho Chi Minh City , were tested positive for A (H1N1) flu virus, bringing the national tally to 25.

Among the six victims in Ho Chi Minh City , a seven-year-old boy was found to get virus through contacts with two infected others. The remaining five were all coming from the US .

Those patients are being isolated and receiving treatments. They are currently in stable health conditions.

The Health Ministry warned that those with flu symptoms, like fever, cough and sore throat, should be isolated, wear facial masks, and go to report to the nearest health clinic.

It also recommended not to take H1N1 infected people to hospitals by public means of transport, especially plane, as a way to prevent the spread of the virus.
On June 11, WHO said 74 countries and territories had reported nearly 27,737 cases of A (H1N1) flu, including 141 deaths.