HCM City confirms three more super flu cases

HCM City confirms three more super flu cases

16:59' 10/06/2009 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Health officials in HCM City reported the number of confirmed A (H1N1) flu infection cases has risen to 17 yesterday, June 9, three more cases than the previous day. Health officials in HCM City reported the number of confirmed A (H1N1) flu infection cases has risen to 17 on June 9. (Photo: VNN) Two new patients are a 40-year-old man and a three-year-old girl, arriving in Viet Nam recently. They are now in quarantine and treatment at HCM City Children's Hospital No 1. Another case is a seven-year-old boy, who was also in quarantine after his first blood test gave positive result for the virus, and the second test will give result today, according to Phan Van Nghiem, head of HCM City Department of Health's Medicine Profession Division. The boy who lives in District 3, HCM City had not gone to foreign countries recently and had close contact with two A/H1N1 flu confirmed patients quarantined at HCM City Children's Hospital No 2. All of the three patients are in good health state. The city health workers yesterday also quarantined eight travellers with high body temperature at HCM City Tropical Diseases Hospital and HCM City Children's Hospital No 1. Nghiem said Pham Ngoc Thach Tuberculosis Hospital's quarantine rooms were put into operation yesterday, after receiving four travellers with high body temperature found at Tan Son Nhat Airport. Vaccine research Vietnamese and foreign experts will this week begin research aimed at producing a vaccine against the A/H1N1 flu virus, a seminar heard in Ha Noi on Monday. World Health Organisation officials told the seminar held by the Ministry of Health, WHO, and the US embassy on producing the vaccine that their agency would provide virus samples for the research. Dr Jean Marc Olive, head of WHO representative office in Viet Nam, pledged that they would support the country in producing vaccine against influenza A (H1N1) as well as other kind of flu. Tran Thanh Duong, deputy head of the Ministry's Preventive Medicine and Environment Department, warned of a possible epidemic outbreak in the country since more and more people were arriving from epidemic zones. Nguyen Thi Thu Van, head of the Vaccine and Bio-Technology Products Company No 1, said her company had begun research for making a vaccine. The company would receive H1N1 virus samples from foreign companies. She said it would take two years to make the vaccine in Viet Nam. The country is in the final stage of a trial to make a vaccine against the H5N1 strain of bird flu, according to Van.