Among the new cases, 15 patients had arrived in Vietnam on eight flights since June 24. In the other two cases, there was one Thai citizen who entered country through Moc Bai Border Gate in Tay Ninh Province, making him the first case of the influenza coming into the country by land.
The Thai patient came in from Cambodia on Saturday via the coach with the number registration of 53N9264. He shared the coach with 28 other passengers according to an on-line newspaper Vietnamnet.
The second case is of a local who was infected with the disease from a patient.
Situation under control
According to Deputy Minister of Health Trinh Quan Huan, there is no outbreak of the flu in the country, and the situation is under control.
No fatality has been reported in the country till date and all patients in health facilities are under close observation and on their way to recovery.
In order to combat the disease the health ministry has proposed preventive measures to tackle the virus in all the localities. They are planning to set up inspection teams, comprising of officials from different agencies to monitor the flu developments and hand out instructions to curb the spread of the virus.
The influenza is contagious and spreads easily by an exposure to infected droplets, expelled by coughing or sneezing and contamination of hands or surfaces.
With university entrance examinations around the corner the ministry cautions students to maintain good hygiene to prevent an outbreak of the disease.
Update on the virus
Latest data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) revealed the swine flu, first identified in Mexico this spring, has hit 113 countries, with 70,000 infections and 311 confirmed deaths from the virus.
The H1N1 swine flu virus which has acquired the status of pandemic, is easily transmissible. Though it is only as lethal as seasonal flu, it affects different groups, younger adults, pregnant women and those with underlying conditions.
According to WHO there were three influenza pandemics that occurred in the last century. These are the 1918-19 (Spanish Flu), 1957-58 (Asian Flu), and 1968-69 (Hong Kong Flu) which all led to “an unimaginable levels of illness, suffering, deaths, social disruption and economic disaster.”
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