Deputy Health Minister: Vietnam confident in MERS controls

With the experience gained from controlling the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the current Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the Republic of Korea (RoK), Vietnam is capable of controlling the virus and handling any cases, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long stated.

Da Nang city tightens inspection of travelers from MERS infected areas. (Image credit: Nhan Dan Online)

During a meeting on June 10, Long noted that MERS has been found in 26 countries around the world with 1,250 cases and 451 deaths.

The RoK has up to now reported 108 cases of infection with nine deaths. Nearly 3,000 people have been quarantined; more than 2,000 schools were closed.

Vietnam has not detected any cases of MERS  infection yet. However, with the risk of the disease spreading, the health sector and other concerned agencies have deployed relevant solutions to prevent the virus from coming to Vietnam.

MERS has been reported in countries around the world since 2014. Accordingly, the Ministry of Health has issued prevention and control measures for three scenarios in Vietnam: no cases detected, cases detected but contained, and cases detected and spreading in the community.

Deputy Minister Long expressed his concern about the spread of MERS in the community given the fast appearance of new cases in the RoK. He stressed the need for close monitoring of genetic mutations of the virus and the possibility of transmission.

The Ministry of Health has advised people to take steps to deal with MERS such as limiting travel to affected areas and applying precautions such as washing hands with soap, and wearing a mask  to avoid infecting others. If a person has visited an infected area and experiences any symptoms such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, he/she must immediately go to the nearest health department for screening.

“The issue is very important and people need to co-operate with the medical staff’, Long said, urging people to join hands to protect their own health, families and the community.

Long again stressed that the health sector has provided recommendations and information on MERS for people to understand and apply preventive measures. He also called on international visitors and those who have returned from infected areas to pay attention to symptoms and to co-operate with medical facilities. “Only with full understanding, will we prevent the disease from spreading,” Long said.

MERS  is a kind of respiratory infection caused by coronavirus (CoV), a "cousin" to the virus causing the SARS epidemic in 2003.

Vietnam has experience in controlling SARS which will be significant in the prevention of MERS as well as many other diseases. Reassuring the public, the deputy minister noted that "In 2003, we isolated and successfully treated the first SARS case while the international community was still confused about treatment methods. This is a huge source of encouragement in the prevention of MERS”.

From the current situation in the RoK, it is apparent that the chance of outbreak of the virus in the medical environment is high. As such, the Ministry of Health has directed relevant units to detect and treat the first infection case as soon as possible to isolate the virus source.

Regarding the Vietnamese who recently returned from the RoK and China, the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health announced that their samples tested negative for MERS.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)