Capital increases surveillance for MERS virus

May 26, 2014 6:53 PM GMT+7

VGP - The Ha Noi Health Department has intensified health checks and inspections at Noi Bai International Airport in the face of the complex global development of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV).

Inspection is intensified at Noi Bai International Airport - Photo:VGP

The department has asked the international health quarantine centre, in collaboration with State management agencies at the airport, to closely monitor flights and passengers entering the country through Noi Bai airport, especially those from disease-hit locations.

If suspected MERS victims are detected at the airport, medical checks and preventive measures should be taken promptly in order to avoid spread of the disease, the department said.

The centre has currently set up two body temperature measuring units at the airport.

According to Head of the Preventive Health Department Tran Dac Phu, so far no case of MERS-CoV has been detected in Viet Nam.

The country is working with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and international organisations to maintain strict monitoring of agents causing the disease, Phu said.

Since September 2012, WHO has been informed of a total of 496 laboratory-confirmed cases of infections with MERS-CoV worldwide.

The organisation encouraged all its member nations to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections and to carefully review any unusual patterns. - VNA