From October 6, 2016, to February 19 this year, China recorded 425 people with A/H7N9, mostly in Yunnan and Guangxi provinces which border Vietnam. The number of human A/H7N9 cases have continually increased in China since October last year, causing the fifth outbreak in the country since 2013, the WHO reported. Last January, some hotbeds of A/H5N1 in poultry were reported in the Cambodian province of Svay Rieng, which also borders Vietnam, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health.
According to the Preventive Medicine Department under the Ministry of Public Health, the long borderline shared with China and busy cross-border trade activities between the two countries pose a high risk of H7N9 virus to be transmitted into Vietnam. Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said avian influenza viruses, especially A/H7N9, are likely to enter Vietnam if effective preventive measures are not taken. He asked the health sector and relevant ministries and agencies to carry out preventative measures to prepare for all circumstances.
The agriculture sector should monitor poultry-related epidemics, thoroughly deal with hotbeds, and share information with health agencies. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Public Security and the border guard force need to prevent fowl smuggling and deal with illegal poultry business activities strictly. Long also requested the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Pasteur institutes in the central and southern regions to focus on suspected cases in localities bordering countries with bird flu outbreaks.
The northern province of Quang Ninh is intensifying measures to prevent A/H7N9 avian flu from entering through border gates as it shares about 118km border line with China, which is tackling a new A/H7N9 outbreak. Deputy Director of the provincial Health Department Nguyen Tien Hung said on February 21 that the most important task at present is using temperature measuring machines and spraying chemical disinfection at the gates. Any infections found must be quarantined and even not allowed to enter the locality (in case of foreign visitors), he added.
In 2016, Vietnam recorded A/H5N1 outbreaks in poultry in seven communes and wards of six districts and townships in Nghe An province, Ca Mau province and Can Tho city. There haven't been any A/H5N1 outbreaks in 2017, according to the Preventive Medicine Department. The flu viruses of A/H7N9, A/H5N8 and A/H5N1 have yet to be reported in humans in Vietnam. The A/H3N2 and A/H1N1 viruses and type B viruses are seasonal influenza viruses in the country.
To proactively prevent the disease, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health recommended people to not use poultry or poultry products with unknown origins, and ensure food hygiene. They were told to immediately notify local authorities and veterinary units if they detected any sick or dead poultry. People should visit doctors to be counselled, examined and receive treatment if they have flu-like symptoms, such as fever, cough, chest pain or breathing difficulty, the ministry said.