Under the recently issued plan, authorities will intensify surveillance at international border gates, including Tan Son Nhat airport and seaports, while ensuring passenger convenience. Remote temperature screening systems will operate continuously to identify individuals exhibiting fever.

Medical staff will conduct thorough epidemiological investigations and immediately isolate passengers arriving from or transiting through Nipah-affected regions who display suspicious symptoms. Concurrently, the health sector will activate its community surveillance network to facilitate early detection of cases or individuals exposed to the source of infection.

Regarding treatment, Ho Chi Minh City has instructed healthcare facilities to immediately review their resources. Personnel, medication, equipment, and isolation areas must be prepared to admit and treat patients should an outbreak occur. Doctors and medical staff will receive updated training on the latest diagnostic and treatment protocols, and infection control procedures will be tightened to ensure the safety of frontline workers.

Ho Chi Minh City's proactive measures come as the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed a death from Nipah virus infection in Bangladesh on 7/2. Previously, two healthcare workers in West Bengal, India, were also confirmed to have contracted the Nipah virus.

Tan Son Nhat International Terminal. Photo: Quynh Tran

The Nipah virus, first identified in 1999, previously caused over 100 deaths in Malaysia and Singapore. Both the WHO and Vietnam's Ministry of Health classify it as a highly dangerous virus due to its high mortality rate. The disease causes acute encephalitis, rapid respiratory failure, and can leave approximately 20% of survivors with permanent neurological sequelae, indicating an alarmingly high fatality rate.

Currently, Vietnam has not recorded any Nipah cases. However, the Ministry of Health advises the public to remain vigilant, strictly avoid eating fruit showing signs of bat or bird bites, and refrain from consuming raw palm or coconut sap.

Experts believe the Nipah virus is primarily transmitted through contact with secretions from infected animals or humans. While its respiratory transmission capability is lower than nCoV, making it less likely to cause a large pandemic like Covid-19, the danger level for individual cases is very high.

Le Phuong