NewsDesk @bactiman63

Deputy Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, Dr. Nguyen Luong Tam announced today that a 5-year-old female patient from Phu Tho, in northern Vietnam, tested positive for influenza A(H5). 

H5N1 avian influenza
Image/Cynthia Goldsmith/ Jackie Katz

This is the first human case of influenza A(H5) in Vietnam since February 2014. From 2003 to present, Vietnam has  recorded 128 cases of influenza A(H5) infection, including 64 deaths.

Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology Tran Nhu Duong said that as soon as the case was identified, the Institute sent a mobile prevention team to Phu Tho, to the area where the patient lived to coordinate with the Department of Animal Health – Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities to conduct epidemiological investigations. 

The team took 65 samples of the patient’s contacts (both distant and close contacts), the test results showed that all were negative for influenza A(H5). Currently, the health status of those in contact with the patient is completely normal.

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To prevent influenza from spreading from poultry to humans, the Department of Preventive Health recommends that people take the following measures:

1. Do not kill, slaughter or use poultry that are sick or dead for unknown reasons.

2. Do not trade or use meat, eggs and poultry products of unknown origin.

3. Do not eat blood pudding, do not eat meat, poultry eggs that have not been thoroughly processed.

4. When detecting sick or dead poultry, they must promptly notify the local authorities.

5. If flu symptoms related to contact with poultry appear, immediately go to a health facility for timely examination and treatment.

 

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