Vietnam Warned of Rising Malaria Infection from African Guest Workers

Vietnamese health authorities have warned of rising number of malaria infections from African guest workers as 90 Vietnamese laborers have contracted with the disease in the past three months after returning from several African countries. The patients are said to come from northern provinces, including Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Ha Nam, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh and Hanoi, according to Ngo Duc Thang, head of the Epidemiology Department of the National Institute of Malariology, Parasitology and Entomology. The high incidence of malaria in such laborers sounded the alarm of the spread of the disease through African guest workers, Mr. Thang said, adding that the outbreak had exceeded previous levels of malaria in guest workers. So far this year, three African guest workers have died of malaria. The latest case was recorded in Hanoi around two weeks ago. Nguyen Van Nam from Ung Hoa District died at Bach Mai Hospital a month after returning from Angola. Experts recommended patients to seek medical attention as soon as symptoms appear, including fever and cold shivers, adding that the incubation period can vary from two weeks up to several years. “Vietnamese workers should undergo medical check-ups before and after working abroad”, he said, adding the institute had proposed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs warn Vietnamese guest workers about the risks of the disease. In the first six months of this year, Vietnam reported nearly 17,000 cases of malaria, down 15% from a year earlier, according to the institute’s statistics. According to Tran Cong Dai, an expert of the World Health Organization in Vietnam, a malaria epidemic is forecast to recur and spread in many provinces and cities this year, and thus, the government should invest more in malaria control to completely eliminate the disease in the future. (Vietnam News Aug 13)