The Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control (HCDC) announced on Wednesday that the city had just discovered a cluster of H1N1 cases in District 10, leading 20 students at an elementary school to take unscheduled sick leave.

A report from the Medical Center of District 10 to the HCDC on March 16 showed an abnormal increase in the number of students taking sick leave at Vo Truong Toan Elementary School on the same day and the day before.

A total of 20 students of the school became ill with symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, fatigue, and vomiting during the two days.

Some students had a fever of up to 39 degrees Celsius.

Doctors initially determined that the children suffered from a flu and randomly took six samples of them and sent them to the Pasteur Institute in the city to test for influenza. 

On March 17, the results showed that all of the samples returned positive for H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu. 

Since March 17, the school has not recorded any new cases of similar symptoms.

The HCDC surveillance data showed that the city has detected clusters of respiratory illnesses at different schools in Binh Thanh District since the beginning of this year.

The clusters were suppressed early to limit the spread.

Health authorities have warned people of respiratory illnesses during this season and have recommended paying attention to children and flu vaccinations.

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An ambulance boat that the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AusCham) gave to Phung Hiep District, Hau Giang Province, southern Vietnam in August last year has yet to be put to use.

Dong Hoang Tho, director of the Phung Hiep Medical Center, on Wednesday said that the boat has been left to sit due to the fact that there is currently no captain, though someone has just been appointed to the position and is now enrolled in a ship piloting course.

Tho added the ambulance boat is expected to be used during the flooding season.

AusCham in August handed over the ambulance boat to the Phung Hiep People’s Committee in order to help transport patients, especially those living in hard-to-reach neighborhoods, to safety.

The boat worth VND700 million (US$29,668) is 5.4 meters long and can carry four people at a time.

It is Hau Giang’s first ambulance boat.

Tran Khong Dan, vice-chairman of the Phung Hiep People’s Committee, told Tien Phong (Youth) newspaper that the boat has not needed to be used yet because most patients in need of emergency care have been accessible by ambulance. 

Dan also noted that there is currently no captain for the boat.

The district plans to put the ambulance boat to use soon, Dan added.

Regarding the possibility of giving the ambulance boat to another locality in need of the vehicle, Ho Thu Anh, vice-chairwoman of the People’s Committee of Hau Giang, said the province will discuss the idea with the district authorities.

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Hanoi has logged 548 new cases of chickenpox so far this year, with the most recent 70 infections recorded just this week, according to statistics from the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (CDC).

There have been no deaths linked to the ongoing outbreak.

Chickenpox is on the rise compared to last year, and many of the patients are preschool and elementary school students, which respectively account for 36.5 percent and 38 percent of the total infections.

So far, 18 out of Hanoi’s 30 districts have been affected by the outbreak, with Chuong My, Me Linh, Ba Vi, and Nam Tu Liem Districts having each detected over 30 cases.

In the outlying district of Chuong My, the local medical center had reported five clusters of 237 chickenpox cases as of March 21.

In Ho Chi Minh City, children’s hospitals citywide said that they have recorded normal rates of hospital admissions and treatment linked to chickenpox.

However, as chickenpox cases tend to surge between February and June, parents should ensure their children are vaccinated and that their children’s play areas are kept clean. 

Chickenpox cases could continue their upward trend over the next several weeks as Hanoi eases into spring, according to the Hanoi CDC, which also stated that local citizens should be aware that other infectious respiratory diseases such as the flu, measles, and whooping cough typically spread during this time of year.

Chickenpox is a contagious disease caused by varicella-zoster virus and can affect people of all ages.

It is typically spread from person to person via direct contact. It can also be spread through saliva and daily practices, like sharing utensils.

It takes 7-21 days after exposure to the virus for someone to develop symptoms of chickenpox, which include a mild fever, runny nose, cough, headache, fatigue, loss of appetite, and an itchy red rash which covers the body with fluid-filled blisters.

Healthcare specialists advise chickenpox patients to take a bath as normal, regularly wash their hands with soap, refrain from sharing utensils with others, and keep their houses and workplaces clean.

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