About 1,000 sick in Vietnam dysentery epidemic
Pastor Dale Morgan
*About 1,000 sick in Vietnam dysentery epidemic*
08 Nov 2007 10:11:49 GMT
Source: Reuters
HANOI, Nov 8 (Reuters) - More than 1,000 people are sick with dysentery
in northern Vietnam, but government officials said on Thursday cholera
had not been confirmed.
"We are not announcing a cholera outbreak. So far it is still identified
as dangerous acute diarrhoea," said Ministry of Health spokesman Nguyen
Quang Thuan.
He said 1,051 people in several northern provinces and cities had
diarrhoea, of which 157 suffered from "acute dangerous diarrhoea".
Authorities reported patients in 11 provinces and cities, including
Hanoi, which has the highest number.
The government of northern Thanh Hoa province, where the illness was
believed to have originated from shrimp paste, on Thursday banned all
foods at public ceremonies.
Earlier this week, state-run newspapers, including the Communist Party's
Nhan Dan (People), quoted Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu as saying,
"in this epidemic test results showing positive with cholera bacterium
account for 15 to 20 percent".
Officials were also quoted as saying up to four people were suspected of
dying in the diarrhoea outbreak.
But on Thursday, the health ministry spokesman said: "Up until today no
one has died from the diarrhoea. Tests showed deaths reported this week
were not caused by diarrhoea."
Vietnam has been fighting various diseases this year, including dengue
fever that has infected 75,200 people and killed 64. Bird flu has killed
four people and authorities have also reported "blue ear" disease in pigs.
"We have applied all measures to control the epidemic to discover it
early and we will also marshal all resources to eradicate it and to try
and stop the epidemic," government spokesman Le Dung said at a news
briefing.
At its most acute, cholera causes sudden watery diarrhoea that can lead
to death by severe dehydration and kidney failure. (Reporting by Grant
McCool and Nguyen Nhat Lam; editing by David Fogarty)