The national flu monitoring system detected this case in April 2011. A two-year-old female baby in Long An province contracted the disease and was treated successfully at the Children’s Hospital No 1. in HCM City. The A/H3N2 flu virus she had originated from pigs.

The test results of the HCMC Pasteur Institute were confirmed on January 10, 2012, by the WHO laboratory at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Since April 2011, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health has strengthened efforts for early detection and monitoring of any new cases of human infection, and has coordinated with the WHO Office in Vietnam to conduct epidemiological investigation into the country’s first case of A/H3N2 human infection.

Vietnam has detected no further cases of A/H3N2 infection since April 2011.

Given the outbreaks of bird flu in several localities, Dr Nguyen Thanh Duong, Vice Head of the Vietnam Preventive Medicine Department, recommends active prevention measures be taken to stop the flu transmitting from animals to humans

He said local people should not eat the meat or blood of pigs or fowl that die without apparent reason, and should visit the nearest clinic as soon as possible if detecting any flu symptoms after contact with fowl or pigs.

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