Urgently preventing avian flu H5N1 and H7N9

During the meeting, Head of the Preventive Health Department Tran Dac Phu said that according to the World Health Organization (WHO), flu A (H7N9) was developing across 14 provinces and cities in China, reporting a suddenly high number of infections and claiming high rate of lives (40%). From October 6th, 2016 to this February 19th, China reported 425 cases of flu A (H7N9) in humans, mainly in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces that border Vietnam. These cases were said to have been exposed to living poultry at markets or environment polluted by infected poultry. There is no evidence about human-to-human transmission.

Information from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) showed that in January, some flu A (H5N1) outbreaks were reported in animals in Cambodia’s Svay Rieng province that also borders Vietnam. Therefore, there is a high risk of the disease penetrating Vietnam, according to officials from the MoH.

MoH Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Long asked the health sector and related agencies to carry out preventive measures to fit plans that had been developed. In particular, the agriculture sector is urged to increase inspection over the disease in poultry, completely treat any possible outbreaks and share the information with the health sector. Meanwhile, the industry and trade, public security and border guard forces are requested to prevent illegal trade of poultry through border areas.

The MoH Deputy Minister also asked the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Pasteur Institutes to increase inspection and diagnose suspected samples at border localities.

The health sector is responsible for inspecting avian flu types in humans and animals, increasing inspection, promptly discovering cases contracting respiratory diseases at border areas, medical foundations and at communities, working with veterinary agencies to carry out measures on preventing human-to-human transmission, and dealing with any possible outbreaks, while provincial and city People’s Committees have to prepare for fighting the disease and focus on inspecting illegal trade of poultry./.