Vietnamese health experts have examined three students who recently came to Vietnam from their homeland Nigeria and confirmed that they had not been infected with the deadly Ebola virus that has killed over 1,000 people in West Africa, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health reported Aug 14. Nigeria and three other West African countries – Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – have been suffering from the world’s worst outbreak of Ebola, which was first identified in March and has affected 1,975 people and killed 1,069 of them as of Aug 13, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Of the three Nigerian students, two arrived in Vietnam on July 31 while the other came on August 8, said Nguyen Thanh Long, Deputy Minister of Health. They are staying in the Southeast Asian country for studies at Hanoi FPT University. Doctors at the Hanoi International Health Quarantine Center, where these foreign students have experienced medical examinations, said they are in good health. The three have been instructed to check their health themselves every day, the center said. The Hanoi Health Department has set up two hot lines, 0969082115 and 0949396115, to receive information related to the Ebola epidemic developments. As of now, Vietnam has had no Ebola infection and its competent agencies have been taking measures to prevent a penetration of the fatal virus. All air passengers coming to Vietnam from the Ebola-hit area in West Africa have been requested to fill out health declaration forms at airports since August 11, according to a new regulation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Health. Such passengers are required to monitor their health for 21 days from the day they left the Ebola-hit area, the ministry said. The measure is necessary as Ebola virus disease (EVD) has an incubation period of two to 21 days, the ministry explained. Ebola is a highly fatal virus that can kill 90% of infected people, the ministry warned, adding that the EVD is often characterized by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. Masaya Kato, the WHO’s communicable disease coordinator, said at a press conference held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health in Hanoi on Aug 12 that the global health body will provide technical assistance for Vietnam to carry out molecular tests for the fatal Ebola virus at local laboratories. (Tuoitrenews.vn Aug 15)
