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Aug 23, 2014 / 09:10

Closely monitoring travellers from Ebola stricken nations

Eighty-three individuals have entered Vietnam in recent weeks from Ebola-affected nations, and they are now under scrutiny by local health authorities, according to the Steering Committee for Epidemic Prevention and Control.

At a Ministry of Health meeting in Hanoi on August 22, the committee said of the travellers, mostly Nigerian and Vietnamese people, 79 entered via Tan Son Nhat International Airport in the south and four via Noi Bai International Airport in the north.
 
 
The names of the individuals have been forwarded to localities where they are staying so local officials can effectively monitor their health, officials said.

To prevent a possible outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, the committee said it is vigilantly scrutinizing all travellers from the affected nations, requiring them to complete a health declaration at the airport prior to entering the country.

The MoH is also sending SMS messages and emails instructing these individuals on how best to prevent the spread of the virus, precautionary measures that should be undertaken by them and steps to take in the event any symptoms of the deadly disease appear.

So far, none of these individuals have shown any signs of Ebola.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long asked the Centre for International Health Quarantine to continue to keep a watchful eye on all travellers entering the country through airports.  He also asked local health departments to stringently monitor these travellers.

Le Quynh Mai, Head of the Virology Department under the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology, said that the institute is cooperating closely with the World Health Organisation in Vietnam to follow the situation.

They are also cooperating with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the University of Nagasaki to ensure early diagnosis of Ebola-infected cases.

 At present, all of the necessary biological products and procedures to detect the Ebola virus are available and have been fully mobilised.

The steering committee said that should any Ebola-infected people be discovered in our nation, they will be provided treatment free of charge.