Ha Noi police have summoned four people for spreading rumours about infections of the deadly Ebola virus in Viet Nam on social media that have sparked panic in the community during the past few days.

Do Thuy Linh, 29, from the northern province of Hung Yen; her husband Vuong Ba Huy, 31, from Ha Noi; Vu Huong Thao, 23 and Nghiem Thuy Trang, 30, both from Ha Noi were summoned to take part in the investigation.

Initial findings showed the four individuals posted rumours of the Ebola virus spreading in Viet Nam on their Facebook on Monday, resulting in the claims spreading across social media.

At the police office, they admitted to posting incorrect information about the Ebola virus in Viet Nam, claiming they had wanted to raise public awareness and guide people in preventing the disease.

The Ministry of Health held a press briefing on Tuesday to scotch the rumours and confirmed that Viet Nam was yet to record any cases of Ebola virus infections.

Under current regulations, it is illegal to post information on the Internet that causes social disorder and has serious consequences. Such acts may be punished with prison terms between six months and seven years, depending on the seriousness of infringements.

Offenders could also face fines between VND20-200 million (US$ 950-9,500).

The Ministry of Health has worked closely with other ministries and public agencies to closely monitor visitors to Viet Nam at border gates and in the community to detect and quarantine suspected cases early.

A training course organized by the ministry was also held in Ha Noi on Wednesday to educate health workers in northern Vietnam about preventive measures against the deadly virus. A similar course was also being held for medical staff in southern Vietnam yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Agency for Overseas Labour Management under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, has required labour export companies to raise awareness of the epidemic among guest workers, particularly those working in Ebola-hit areas. The companies have also been advised to suspend sending labourers to high-risk regions.

Ebola is a severe acute viral illness often characterised by the sudden onset of fever, intense weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. This is followed by vomiting, diarrhoea, rashes, impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding.

Ebola was introduced to the human population through close contact with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected animals.

The disease has then spread through human-to-human transmission, with infection resulting from direct contact (through broken skin or mucous membranes) with the blood, secretions, organs or other bodily fluids of infected people, and indirect contact with environments contaminated with such fluids.

By August 12 as many as 1,848 people infected with the Ebola virus have been confirmed, including 1,013 deaths. Most of the infections and deaths are reported in the four West African nations: Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organisation.

Three students returning from Nigeria, one of the four countries that reported the spread of the Ebola virus, have been under close observation by the Ministry of Health.

The three Nigerian students are studying at the FPT University in Ha Noi.

Two of them entered Viet Nam on August 8 whereas the other entered the country on July 31.

Health Ministry holds drill on Ebola outbreak

The Health Ministry and the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City held a drill on August 14 to get hospitals in the city prepared for a possible Ebola outbreak, which is currently ravaging West Africa, though no case of infection has been reported in Vietnam so far.

A stimulated situation was created for a group of people who came home from a business trip in Ebola-hit Liberia and have developed such symptoms as fever, diarrhea, muscle aches, and haemorrhage after 16 days.

Head of the Pasteur Institute Phan Trong Lan said the drill is very important, helping the medical staff improve their response capacity.

Joining in the event, which is part of a training course on preventive measures against Ebola for health workers in the south, HCM City’s medical staff also learnt how to prevent the deadly virus from spreading in their hospitals as well as the community.

At the drill, the Health Ministry also recommended people to promptly inform local authorities and healthcare institutions of any suspect case returning home from outbreak locations.

According to the World Health Organisation, Ebola, which is caught by close contact with an infected person through bodily fluids such as sweat, blood and tissue, has killed 1,069 people in the current outbreak, spreading from southern Guinea to Liberia, Sierra Leone and then Nigeria.

Ministry trains health workers in Ebola preventive measures

The Health Ministry organised in Hanoi on August 13 a training course on preventive measures against the deadly virus Ebola which is raging through West Africa for health workers in the north.

The course provided the trainees with guidance on how to recognise the disease in case of any suspect people reported along with treatment protocol.

Director of the Central Tropical Hospital Nguyen Van Kinh said the ministry and the Steering Committee for Epidemic Prevention and Control have co-built an action plan preventing the outbreak from entering Vietnam.

Based on the instructions of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC), the Department of Preventive Medicine under the health ministry has activated an emergency operations centre (EOC) to share information on the situation of emergency diseases with domestic and international organisations and individuals.

The health departments in localities having international border gates are intensifying health checks of visitors while keeping the community updated on the latest developments and the danger of the disease as well as ways to avoid getting infected.

The Ministry of Health held a similar course for medical staff in the south on August 14.

No infection case of the virus has been reported in Vietnam so far.

VNS/VNN