Hanoi (VNA) – The Health Ministry on June 2 recommended the public somemeasures to prevent A/H1N1 influenza after 16 people catch the virus from apatient at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tu Du Hospital.

On June 1, doctors found a woman running a high feveraccompanied by bodily pain while she was visiting Tu Du Hospital, a majormaternity institution in Vietnam, for a surgery in the gynecologicaldepartment.

She was discharged due to ill health for the operation, andlater on the same day there were 23 cases of patients, their relatives andmedical workers at the hospital simultaneously having high temperatures, arunny nose and sore throat.

Sixteen of them tested positive for A/H1N1 influenza, anacute respiratory disease.

Over 80 patients suspected of having been exposed to thewoman have been isolated for observation

According to the World Health Organisation, the disease canbe transmitted by droplets emanating from unprotected coughs and sneezes, handcontamination, and interpersonal encounters in crowded closed spaces.

In a tropical country like Vietnam, the influenza circulatesthe entire year round, usually reaching several peaks in the rainy season.

The A/H1N1 virus causes pernicious respiratory infection.Its symptoms are similar to seasonal flu, with fever, cold, cough andunpleasant stomach. The virus then spreads to respiratory system, causing othercomplicated symptoms such as wheezing and phlegm. Vulnerable groups include theelderly, children, pregnant women, diabetics, cancer patients and HIV-positivepeople.

Therefore, the Health Ministry advised the public tointensify personal hygiene, wash hands with soap, hide mouth and nose whencoughing or sneezing, and clean rooms.

If having such symptoms as fever, cold and cough, they wereasked to wear face masks, go to health clinics, and avoid using drugs withoutdoctor instructions.

Vietnam experienced an H1N1 pandemic in 2009, with over9,000 cases of people contracting the disease and nearly twenty deaths withinfour months of the year, according to the ministry.-VNA