Nearly 130 people from Ebola areas under observation

Hanoi, August 28 (VNA) – Health authorities have been closely observing 128 people who travelled to Vietnam from areas hit by Ebola, Tran Dac Phu, Head of the Ministry of Health’s Preventive Medicine Department, said on August 28. These people entered the country between August 11 and August 26, with 124 via Tan Son Nhat international airport in Ho Chi Minh City and four through Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi. Amongst those being observed are 30 Vietnamese travelling from Liberia and 98 Nigerians, one of whom left the risk region more than 21 days ago. No arrivals from Ebola affected areas have been reported at other border gates so far, Phu said. According to the Preventive Medicine Department, a small number of Vietnamese nationals have been working in countries affected by Ebola, and no cases of infections have been recorded there yet. Individuals entering Vietnam from Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo are required to report to immigration authorities for a medical examination in an effort to prevent the deadly virus from spreading to Vietnam. Ebola is spread through the exchange of bodily fluids, such as sweat and blood, between an infected and non-infected person. According to the World Health Organisation, no cure or vaccine is available at present.-VNA