Quang Ninh: 12,000 smuggled chickens culled

Law-enforcement force in Hai Ha district, Quang Ninh province on February 28 confiscated 12,000 breeding chickens smuggled from China.

The Quang Duc border guard station in Quang Duc commune, Hai Ha district and Bac Phong Sinh’s customs division discovered chickens carried in 170 plastic boxes on a truck driven by Be Van Quy, who lives in Hai Ha district.

All the chickens were destroyed to prevent the spread of H7N9 bird flu from China.

Quy confessed that he had transported the chickens for another person from the border to inland for sale.

According to the World Health Organisation, the ongoing bird flu bout in China is the fifth since 2013. This is the largest epidemic with 425 cases of infection in human reported, mainly in Guangxi, Yunnan and Guangdong provinces. 

Guangxi and Yunnan share a border with Vietnam.

Dong Nai active in avian flu prevention

The southern province of Dong Nai, which houses Vietnam’s largest poultry population of 18 million birds, has been taking precautionary measures against avian flu.

The province is also among 13 localities that have detected A/H5N1 avian flu virus strain.

Another strain of the virus, A/H7N9, has yet to be found in the country, however, the long borderline shared with China and busy cross-border trade activities between the two countries are posing a high risk of virus transmissions into Vietnam.

According to head of the Dong Nai Preventive Medicine Department Bach Thai Binh, communications campaigns to raise public awareness of the diseases have been intensifying across the province.

Farmers have been recommended to vaccinate their poultry, monitor the animals’ health, and avoid selling dead and sick poultry to the market.

The local health agency has also fully prepared medical equipment and human resources to promptly deal with any emerging outbreaks of the diseases.

Workshop discusses public involvement in policy planning

An international workshop was held in Hue city, the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on February 28 debating grassroots democracy initiatives and public involvement in public policy planning in the central region. 

Co-hosted by the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and Australia’s University of Canberra, the event attracted nearly 200 delegates from NAPA, the Da Nang Institute for Social-Economic Development and representatives from State management agencies in central cities and provinces. 

With two major sessions, the workshop focused its discussions on micro to macro perspectives based on realities at the local, regional and national level. 

Le Nhu Thanh, NAPA permanent Deputy Director, said the event provides a platform for scholars, researchers and managers at home and abroad to share experience and achievements in administrative reform and country governance. 

Strong public involvement in State management activities will make important contributions to building a society of fairness and democracy and socio-economic development in the current context, he said. 

The event also suggested orientations to public administration amid global integration to build a government of constructiveness, transparency and accountability in every life aspect.

Lang Son: Volunteer experts honoured with Lao orders, medals

A ceremony was held in the northern mountainous province of Lang Son on February 28 to present Laos’s orders and medals to the provincial volunteer soldiers and military experts in recognition of their contributions to Laos’s revolutionary cause.

Among the awarded, five fallen soldiers were granted Laos’s first-class Freedom Order, 49 individuals received first-class Victory Order and 19 others were presented with anti-American resistance medals.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Pham Ngoc Thuong expressed his thanks to the Lao government for presenting noble medals to 73 experts and volunteers soldiers in the province.

He affirmed that the locality treasures the special friendship relations and comprehensive cooperation between two nations.

Laos decided to present its orders and medals to nearly 9,000 Vietnamese soldiers on the occasion of 55th anniversary of Vietnam-Laos diplomatic relations (1962-2017) and the 40th anniversary of signing the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty (1977-2017).

Medical units speed up response for stroke patients

One morning last month 53-year-old Hà Nội resident Vũ Hữu woke up feeling weak over half of his body. He could barely grasp items with his hands and his legs felt like jelly.

With a medical history of having diabetes and hypertension, he immediately went to Bạch Mai Hospital.

“Doctors said I had a light ischemic stroke due to a cerebral embolism,” Hữu said. He recovered shortly after receiving treatment.

Hữu’s timely reactions saved his life. But several stroke patients were only taken to hospitals when complications – like paralysis – have occurred, or after they have fallen into a coma due to insufficient knowledge on stroke symptoms, according to Prof Dr Lê Văn Thính, dean of the neurology department at Bạch Mai Hospital.

Some 200,000 Vietnamese citizens suffer strokes each year, according to the Việt Nam Stroke Association. Half of them die; another 30 per cent are at high risk of paralysis.

Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the country behind heart-related diseases and cancer, and had the highest disability rate, according to the association.

A stroke is a medical emergency that occurs when blood vessels in the brain are blocked or ruptured, interrupting the blood supply to the brain and causing brain cells to die within minutes. Clinical symptoms of stroke include hemiplegia (paralysis on one side of the body), incoherent speech or patients falling into coma.

As the number of stroke patients increased over recent years, the Ministry of Health (MoH) last year issued Circular No. 47 to regulate stroke examinations and treatment at medical units nationwide, which takes effect from today. 

Depending on their capability, one of the following stroke response task forces must be formed at each and every medical unit: stroke team, stroke unit, stroke department or stroke centre, said Lương Ngọc Khuê, director of MoH’s healthcare management department. They must operate 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to ensure timely treatment for stroke patients and reduce sequelae of cerebral strokes, he said.

Doctors at the HCM City Medicine and Pharmacy University recently succeeded in saving a stroke patient’s life thanks to the hospital’s stroke alert process.

At home, the 42-year-old patient suddenly found it difficult to speak. His face and mouth became distorted, the left half of his body paralysed.

The hospital’s stroke alert system was initiated right after the patient was hospitalised with the involvement of the majority of doctors at the emergency department, the neurology department’s stroke unit, the diagnostic imaging department and a crew of cerebrovascular intervention doctors.

An emergency CT scan showed that the patient had had a brainstem infarction due to an occlusion of the basilar artery. His family said it had been his habit in the last 10 years to smoke 1.5-2 packs of cigarettes per day.

The treatment process for cases of acute cerebral infarction had been improved by the cerebrovascular pathology department of the People’s Hospital 115 in HCM City in order to save time for patients, said Nguyễn Đình Phú, vice director of the hospital.

The duration of the intravascular interventional treatment phase had been shortened, enabling doctors to enter the decision making phase earlier, he said.

Specifically, contacts of vascular intervention doctors are included in their online duty schedule so that they could be reached anytime, even at midnight. Administrative and financial procedures are processed quickly. Advance payments can be made by the hospital to cover patients’ medical fees.

In addition, consultations between leaders of departments can be done via smartphone applications. Diagnosing images can also be transferred via smartphones.

The shortened process would improve neurological rehabilitation after 3 months of treatment for cerebral infarction patients, Phú said.

The hospital would continue to improve the process by increasing collaboration between the emergency, diagnostic imaging and clinical laboratory departments, he added. It would focus on shortening the duration of the blood collection and process phases in preparation for interventional treatment, he said.

Failing grade for Lạng Sơn food

The northern province of Lạng Sơn has failed to control farm produce, poultry and animals illegally imported via unofficial channels.

Additionally, public awareness of the importance of food safety was lower than expected, said National Assembly’s Vice Chairman, Phùng Quốc Hiển, on Monday while he led an inspection team of food hygiene and safety experts to the province.

Data from the locality showed that more than 512,000 tonnes of farm produce, worth about US$80 million, was legally imported from China in 2016. Over the past five years, 207 local residents reportedly suffered from food poisoning, but no fatalities were recorded.

It is estimated that thousands of tonnes of poultry are illegally imported from China into the province via unofficial channels each year.

After the inspection, the teams discovered that local residents still used foods without clear origins illegally imported without questioning their quality and safety.

During the inspection, Hiển asked Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vũ Văn Tám to answer his question on whether foods, imported from China, and consumed in Việt Nam, meet standards on food hygiene and safety or not.

Tám said samples were taken from legally imported foods and tested to ensure that they meet standards on food hygiene and safety, but problems persisted in illegally imported foods, he said.

Therefore, Hiển ordered local administration to take severe action in the fight against smuggling and commercial fraud to resolve the situation as soon as possible.

The inspection was set to be conducted over two days. On Monday, the team was divided into three groups to check the border gates of Tân Thanh, Cốc Nam, and Hữu Nghị, and wholesale markets of Giếng Vuông and Chi Lăng. The team split into two groups to check slaughtering stations in the province yesterday. 

Provincial hospitals improve ability to treat heart ailments

The training provided by leading central-level hospitals in HCM City has helped doctors at provincial facilities apply latest techniques and advances to treat heart patients, reducing the need for emergency transfers.

In the process, it has also improved the skills and professionalism of doctors at the provincial level.

For instance, doctors at the Cần Thơ City General Hospital in the Mekong Delta are now able to perform open heart surgeries, endoscopies, stent placements and techniques after learning them from the Chợ Rẫy Hospital in HCM City.

Early last week, they implanted pacemakers in two patients 44 and 63 years old. The patients, residents of Phong Điền and Ninh Kiều districts, were admitted with heart rates of less than 40 beats per minute compared to normal 60 to 100 beats per minute.

Moreover, they suffered from bundle branch block, which causes delays and obstructions on the pathway that sends electrical impulses to the left or the right side of the bottom chambers of heart, leading to regular tiredness, vertigo and sometimes, loss of consciousness.

Dr Trịnh Thanh Tâm of the Cần Thơ City General Hospital’s cardiovascular ward told the Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper that doctors decided to implant pacemakers that would work for a long time, providing electrical stimuli as needed to keep the pulse rate normal.

If this was not done, the patients were at risk of suffering a stroke, Tâm said, adding that this was a noninvasive technique.

Doctors at the Thống Nhất General Hospital in Đồng Nai Province have also benefited from training provided by the Chợ Rẫy Hospital, enabling them to perform many procedures on their own, including open heart surgeries and other cardiovascular interventions.

Dr. Phạm Văn Dũng, the hospital’s director, said it was very important to develop the expertise for making timely cardiovascular interventions and ensuring the patients’ safety.  

The Đồng Nai newspaper recently quoted the head of the provincial Department of Health, Huỳnh Minh Hoàn, as saying that learning and using advanced techniques and technological developments is a common trend that hospitals all over the country have to follow in the coming time.

The Thống Nhất Hospital in HCM City and Vĩnh Long Province’s General Hospital also signed a five-year (2016-2020) agreement on training the latter’s staff in cardiovascular interventions within the period between 2016 and 2020.

Since 2013, a Satellite Hospital project has been providing training in advanced techniques for treating heart diseases to private and public health facilities throughout the country.

The project is one of several measures being taken to improve the qualification of doctors, especially those at provincial and grassroots levels, according to Medical Examination and Treatment Department under the Health Ministry.

In a recent conference, Dr Lương Ngọc Khuê, the department’s head, said that residents in outlying areas now had better access to modern treatment.

The availability of modern treatments at more district and provincial hospitals in recent years helped reduce overcrowding at major central and city-level hospitals, he said.

In particular, the rate of transfer to central and city-level hospitals had fallen by 98.5 per cent in patients with heart-related diseases, he added.

Oesophageal cancer often detected in late stage

A 54-year-old man from the central province of Phú Yên had been losing weight, and had felt chest pains and problems in swallowing.

A local hospital diagnosed the man with stage 3A oesophageal cancer, meaning the cancer had yet to invade the lymph nodes.

The patient later decided to visit FV Hospital in HCM City for further treatment.

Dr Đỗ Minh Hùng, head of the hospital’s general surgery department, said the case was a serious one in which all the nodes had to be removed in a location with many large blood vessels and nerves, near the heart.  

Despite risks, Hùng and other doctors in the surgical team decided to perform an eight-hour laparoscopic surgery to remove all the nodes.

They made an oesophageal resection, and then reconnected the remaining part of the esophagus to the stomach.

The laparoscopic surgery helped reduce the risk of infection, Hùng said.

The patient can now eat and drink, and can speak clearly.

According to the US National Cancer Institute, the most common types of oesophageal cancer are squamous cell carcinoma, which begins in flat cells lining the oesophagus, and adenocarcinoma, which begins in cells that release mucus and other fluids.

Smoking and heavy alcohol use increase the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Gastroesophageal reflux disease may increase the risk of oesophageal adenocarcinoma.

Health experts said that patients with oesophageal cancer often have no early symptoms, leading to diagnosis at an advanced stage.

Oesophageal cancer is the eighth most common cancer in the world, according to the World Health Organisation’s Global Cancer Report 2012.

Nearly 456,000 new incidences of oesophageal cancer were recorded globally in 2012. Around 400,000 people died from the disease. The ratio of males and females with the cancer was 2.4 to one.

According to Bạch Mai Hospital, the prevalence of oesophageal cancer in Việt Nam is 1.4 per 100,000 people, lower than China and Russia, with a prevalence of about 100 per 100,000 people.

Doctors at the Huế Oncology Centre said that in Việt Nam oesophageal cancer is rare. In men, the rate of incidences is 3.7 per 100,000. In females, it is 0.6 per 100,000.

People over aged 50 are at a higher risk of oesophageal cancer, they added.

Like other cancers, oesophagectomy, radiotherapy and chemotherapy are the main types of treatment.

Doctors at Huế Oncology Centre said that laparoscopic surgery had improved treatment effectiveness and that post-operative chemo-radiation therapy could reduce recurrences.

The survival rate of patients receiving combination therapy could be improved compared to using either surgery or radiotherapy alone. 

FV Hospital offers 20 per cent discount on fees

FV Hospital in HCM City on February 27 kicked off a promotion programme offering a 20 per cent discount on all general surgical packages and hospital fees.

The promotion programme, which ends on September 30, is designed only for non-insured and locally insured patients, not for internationally insured patients. It is not valid for emergency surgery.

The hospital said the promotion would enable more patients to have access to FV Hospital’s Joint Commission International-credited, world-class services.

The hospital said that its costs are on par with costs at private hospitals in the city because of FV’s policy to adjust charges to suit patients’ financial capability.

The hospital’s general surgery department offers surgical treatments for cancer and complicated conditions related to the gastrointestinal tract and liver, and gallbladder and pancreas, as well as for conditions such as obesity, hernias, thyroid gland problems and sweaty palms.

Nine legal documents issued in January

The Government and the PM issued nine legal documents, including seven Decrees and two Decisions, in January.

Decree No. 01/2017/ND-CP amending a number of articles of the decrees detailing the implementation of the Land Law aims to address difficulties and obstacles in realizing the Land Law.

Decree No. 02/2017/ND-CP relates to the agriculture support mechanism and policies to restore production in areas suffering damage from natural calamities and diseases.

Decree 03/2017/ND-CP on casino business regulates business, management, and punishment of administrative infringements of casino business activities in Viet Nam.

Decree No. 04/2017/ND-CP on provision and management of government guarantee deals with regulations on appraisal, approval and provision of the government guarantee for domestic and foreign loans, domestic and international bond issues.

Decree No. 05/2017/NĐ-CP including three charters and 31 articles stipulates the treatment of sunken property on inland waterways, port waters and Viet Nam’s waters.

Decree No. 06/2017/ND-CP on business of betting on horse racing, greyhound racing and international soccer regulates regulations on business management and punishment on administrative infringements on horse and dog racing and pilot international football gambling in Viet Nam.

Decree No. 07/2017/ND-CP defining procedures on pilot granting of e-visas for foreigners entering Viet Nam heads to realize administrative procedure reform for foreigners entering Viet Nam and the guideline to apply information technology in the State administrative agencies.

Nam Dinh work to hinder spread of A/H5N1 virus

The northern province of Nam Dinh is making efforts to curb outbreaks of the A/H5N1 avian flu virus, which have been recorded in Vu Ban and Truc Ninh districts.

The local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said the disease has hit the province several times since 2013.

In March 2013, the virus was detected in Yen Phu commune, Y Yen district, causing the destruction of 267 domesticated birds to prevent the disease spreading. 

It reappeared in February 2014, between January and October 2015, and in December 2016, leading to the deaths of 5,230 birds.

Since the beginning of 2017, the number of culled poultry has exceeded 9,100.

According to Hoang To Nga, deputy head of the local agricultural body, shifting weather between seasons coupled with farmers’ neglect of vaccinations and small-scale farming were the major causes of the outbreaks.

Waterfowl farming areas, poultry markets and former disease-hit areas are predicted to be at high risk of infection in the coming months, especially April and May.

The local steering committee for disease prevention has worked to tighten regulations on food safety at slaughterhouses and markets, and urged every district to prepare for outbreaks.

Local districts have been implementing a state-funded campaign of 1.5 million vaccine injections for poultry in disease-hit localities, while farmers have been asked to shift to concentrated farming away from residential areas.

Health Ministry works to increase use of traditional medicine

The Ministry of Health will work to increase medical examinations and treatment using oriental medicine, as well as meet demand for herbal medicine.

According to the ministry, Vietnam has 63 public hospitals of traditional medicine and three private ones. About 92.7 percent of hospitals have oriental medicine faculties, a rise of 2.7 percent compared to 2015.

Treatment using oriental medicine has gradually risen over the years, with the technniques used in 4.1 percent, 11.7 percent and 13.4 percent of total cases in central, provincial and district levels, respectively.

Many localities have built and upgraded traditional medicine hospitals, including the capital city of Hanoi, the northern province of Ninh Binh, the central province of Binh Dinh and the southern provinces Binh Thuan and Tay Ninh.

Treatment with oriental medicine combined with modern medicine has been improved. The health sector has also worked to modernise equipment for those hospitals and promote the application of science.

The ministry will instruct relevant agencies to examine the quality of herbal materials and monitor the operation of facilities providing oriental treatment and medicine manufacturers. In addition, activities tackling fake medicine trading will be launched.

The health sector will strive to complete the State management system for oriental medicine, so that all health departments have specialised units in the field.

Fighting sidewalk occupancy a top priority: HCM City chair

The Ho Chi Minh City administration has given top priority to its ‘sidewalk clearing’ effort, not only in downtown areas but in other districts.

During a meeting focused on the local socio-economic situation on February 27, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said that order on the city’s footpaths and roadways must be re-established by March.

Phong mentioned the recent campaign led by Deputy Chairman Doan Ngoc Hai of the District 1 administration, praising the official for his firm measures and direct management of the process.

Since February 20, a team of police and urban management officers led by Hai has applied measures to penalize those ‘invading’ downtown sidewalks, with no one standing above the law, be it public servants or citizens.

Chairman Phong went on to remind the leaders of other districts in the southern hub to start dealing with the problem in their own neighborhoods.

Relevant authorities will carry out their own measures to remedy the situation, the leader promised.

The effort to reclaim public space on the city’s pavements will require both direct action from local authorities and cooperation from citizens.

According to Vo Van Hoan, chief of the municipal People’s Committee Office, the solutions used by authorities in District 1 are in line with the law and necessary as previous measures have proved ineffective.

The approach has received mixed feedback from local residents and officials, Hoan stated, before adding that District 1 has been following directions from the city’s leaders.

A group of police and urban management officers in District 3 was tasked with inspecting the situation along several major streets, namely Pham Ngoc Thach, Vo Van Tan, Hai Ba Trung, and some others, on February 27 morning.

The law enforcers dealt with several automobiles illegally parked on the sidewalk, of which some belonged to public servants and officials, and charged VND700,000 (US$31) for each violation.

Some food and drink vendors who placed their tables on the walkways were also fined VND2.5 million ($109) per case and had their furniture confiscated.

“We will make regular patrols on these streets to prevent repeated offenses," said Lieutenant Colonel Pham Minh Phuong, a police official in District 3. "The effort will be extended to other routes in the near future.”

In addition to the two downtown districts, authorities in Binh Tan and Phu Nhuan Districts also initiated a campaign on February 27 by dealing with the illegal occupancy of sidewalks on many streets.

Intersectoral steering committee for int’l integration made up of 11 members

Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue, head of the Intersectoral Steering Committee for International Economic Integration, has signed a decision ratifying the list of the committee’s members.

Accordingly, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh serves as the deputy head of the committee, while its members include Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai (also General Secretary of the committee); Deputy Chairman of the Government Office Nguyen Sy Hiep; Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam Nguyen Thi Hong; Deputy Finance Minister Tran Hong Ha; Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen The Phuong; Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh; Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Khanh; Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Linh Ngoc; and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh, head of the government’s negotiation delegation on international economics and trade.

The intersectoral steering committee is part of the National Steering Committee on International Integration, which was established following the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 596/QĐ-TTg dated April 23, 2014.

The intersectoral steering committee is tasked with researching, recommending and consulting with the head of the National Steering Committee on the government’s big guidelines, policies, strategies, plans and action programs concerning international economic integration, as well as on the common negotiation guidelines and directions for international economic integration, so as to create a premise for the building of negotiation measures of ministries and sectors.

In addition, the intersectoral steering committee is also responsible for helping the head of the National Steering Committee direct and coordinate activities of domestic ministries, sectors, localities and businesses to participate in economic and trade activities in the ASEAN, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and other organizations, forums and trade deals in the region and around the world; and direct ministries and sectors to adjust, supplement and finalize the system of domestic economic and trade laws and policies to ensure accordance with regional and world economic and trade institutions and organizations to which Viet Nam is a signatory.

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