The Department of Health in Ho Chi Minh City said that it has controlled prevention task at medical clinics in districts and communes.

Nguyen Huu Hung, deputy director of the Department of Health in HCMC, said that those who were discharged from the Tropical Disease Hospital are under observation in community. Medical workers of preventive medicine centers in districts or communes will check these people everyday.

Once, there is any abnormality, medical workers will soon report to the department for consultation. Even relatives of these people experience fever or any symptoms including fever, headache, muscle pain, they will call for medical centers for help.

Medical workers are trained to treat the disease. Nguyen Van Sau, director of the Center for International Health Quarantine in Tan Son Nhat International Airport said, medical workers still measure passengers’ body daily.

However, Mr. Sau added that it is difficult to discover Ebola-infected people as in reality some passengers are in incubation period; accordingly the most important is to raise passengers’ awareness of the disease.

People who used to travel to the West Africa countries and suffer fever are encouraged to have medical check-up in hospitals.

Nguyen Van Vinh Chau, director of the Tropical Disease Hospital, said that its lab has waited for the Ministry of Health’s approval to carry out tests for the disease.

Phan Trong Lan, head of the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City, said that six mobile medical worker teams have been set up, aiming to prevent the disease in community. The health sector also pays attention to other provinces which closed border gates with others countries.

Ebola virus disease can quite penetrate into Vietnam , said Tran Dac Phu, chief of the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health; therefore passengers from Ebola-hit nations must fill medicine declaration form. Those who are experience fever have to be isolated under close observation.

In addition, the plane which carried infected passenger must be disinfected.

The Department of Preventive Medicine said that some Vietnamese workers are living and working in Ebola-hit countries. For instance, 34 Vietnamese workers are in Sierra Leone, 60 people in Nigeria and 20 in Liberia. Therefore, medical workers have to work around the clock to check when these workers return Vietnam.

Source: SGGP