The Ministry of Health on July 21 reported on the two latest outbreaks of the A/H1N1 flu in Dong Nai province and Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the Health Ministry, 31 people in Viet Kieu hamlet, Xuan Loc district, Dong Nai and three Viet kieu from the US, joined a family party on July 9.

Following a report that a child of one of the three Viet kieu tested positive with the flu, the province’s health department on July 19 tested all those who attended the party, the health ministry said, adding that 24 of them were confirmed with the A/H1N1 virus.

In Ho Chi Minh City, 22 cases of the flu had been confirmed as of July 19. Among five cases reported on July 18, one victim, a student, had joined the above party in Dong Nai.

Health Minister Nguyen Quoc Trieu and representatives of concerned agencies came to Ho Chi Minh City from July 18-20 to spur efforts to combat the flu. A number of schools in the city were ordered to be closed within a week.

On July 21, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee had an urgent meeting with the city’s steering board for flu control.

The meeting decided to push the fight against A/H1N1 into the second phase by handling suspected cases on the spot controlling the spread of the flu epidemic and closely monitoring the treatment of patients.

It also proposed the city’s health department work out a plan to combat the flu in the third phase, which begins when fatalities caused by the flu are reported.
As of July 21, 139,566 people in 139 countries and territories have been confirmed positive with the A/H1N1 flu, of which 781 have died.