Vietnam is facing a high risk of an A/H7N9 outbreak after Guangdong province of its neighbor China recorded five infections, said Tran Dac Phu, head of the Preventive Medicine Department under the Ministry of Health. Mr. Phu attributed cold weather and the increasing consumption of poultry during the Lunar New Year festival as major reasons. He called for urgent measures from localities and state agencies to prevent the deadly strain from entering the country. New flu virus strains affecting humans have appeared in a short time, with H5N1 in 2003, followed by swine flu virus H1N1 in 2009, and H7N9 and H10N8 in 2013. The two latest viruses have not been detected in Vietnam, but they might be soon, given the proximity and rampant fowl smuggling across the border into Hanoi and nearby provinces, he said. H7N9 infection in a person is difficult to trace as its impacts are scarcely visible in infected fowls, he noted. (Kinh Te & Do Thi – Economy & Urban Jan 6 p3)
