Cholera epidemic affects two foreigners
The first case
A Japanese man who drank beer and ate soya curd with shrimp paste at a restaurant is reported to have cholera.This is the first foreigner affected by this epidemic in Vietnam. The man is now being treated at home.
The Deputy Minister of Health, Trinh Quan Huan, said Sunday that foreigners infected with cholera would not be allowed to leave Vietnam to prevent the spread of cholera.
On Sunday, Hanoi had one more cholera patient, bringing the total number to 202 in the whole country, three weeks after the outbreak began. The total number of diarrhea patients numbers more than 1,500.
So far, Hanoi has the highest number of diarrhea patients, more than 600, 100 of whom are positive for cholera.
Health experts say that the epidemic is under control in Hanoi but it is developing in other provinces, especially Ha Tay, with 31 new cholera patients.
The Preventive Health Agency has instructed local preventive health agencies to supervise coach and railway stations to discover diarrhea patients early.
The second case
On November 11, there were an additional 60 cholera patients, raising the total number of cholera patients to 202 so far, said Dr. Nguyen Huy Nga, Head of the Preventive Health Agency.
In the morning on Sunday, November 11, food hygiene controllers checked some markets in Hanoi such as Hang Be, 19/2 and Hang Da and they found many food sellers disobeying rules on food hygiene. Four food stalls were forced to close.
The Belgium traveller is a 26-year-old girl. She stayed in Ho Chi Minh City for two days before flying to Hanoi. The girl vomited on the plane.In the morning on Sunday, November 11, food hygiene controllers checked some markets in Hanoi such as Hang Be, 19/2 and Hang Da and they found many food sellers disobeying rules on food hygiene. Four food stalls were forced to close.
In Hanoi, she stayed at the Sofitel Plaza Hotel, where she showed typical symptoms of cholera: vomiting and diarrhea. The girl was brought to the SOS 31 Centre on Hai Ba Trung Street and then transferred to the Vietnam-France Hospital.
Doctors of the Vietnam-France Hospital performed some tests which showed the presence of the cholera infection. The patient was moved to the National Institute for Contagious and Tropical Diseases.
Doctors suspect that the Belgium patient became infected with cholera in HCM City, where she ate at many restaurants and hotels. Some foreigners in the same group with the girl had similar symptoms but at more gentle levels so they kept moving to Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh.
The Sofitel Plaza Hotel was immediately decontaminated and the people who had contact with the patient have taken medicine. The patient is now stable.