Ministry brings attention to cracks in Vietnam’s longest highway

The Ministry of Construction has requested that the Ministry of Transport and the investor of the newly-opened 245-km Noi Bai-Lao Cai Highway investigate the causes for cracks on the route, the longest of its kind in Vietnam.

According to the Ministry of Construction, the State Agency for Construction Quality Investigation has visited the site for investigation.

The ministry has also asked that the Ministry of Transport instruct the investor, Vietnam Expressway Corporation, to find out and divulge the causes these cracks and work out the quickest solution.

The investor will be responsible for frequent checks on the road to detect any problems that could pose a threat to safety.

The Ministry of Construction has also urged authorities of Hanoi and the other provinces the highway runs through Hanoi, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Yen Bai and Lao Cai, where the highway cooperate with the investor.

On September 24, management agencies found cracks at some sections of the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Highway, which have only been open to public for a few days.

Initial drilling seems to point to a geological cause.

The first phase of the Noi Bai-Lao Cai Expressway cost a total of USD1.47 billion. The route was opened to traffic on September 21.

Teacher suspended for violence against a student

A high school teacher in Quang Ninh Province has been suspended from her work for her violent behaviour toward a student.

Nguyen Van Tue, an official from the Quang Ninh Department of Education and Training, confirmed that Nguyen Thi Thuong from Tran Hung Dao High School in Dong Trieu District, will be suspended.

The decision was made after a clip of a teacher’s improper behaviour was posted on the internet recently. In the clip, the teacher, who is pregnant, pulls the hair of a boy and boxes his ears. She even scolds the student.

After learning about the incident, the People’s Committee of Quang Ninh Province requested the local Department of Education and Training to look into the case and identify the teacher.

Tue said that representatives from the department went to Tran Hung Dao High School, and ordered the teacher to report her violation.

According to Thuong, the video was taken on September 20 in Class 11B3. Thuong asked the student, Toan, to go to a platform to explain why he had been absent. It was when Toan refused that the teacher lost her temper and became violent.

A student in the class filmed and posted the video.

An official from the Quang Ninh Department of Education and Training said that Thuong may be not be allowed to work as a teacher again, but she could be given another job at the school.

Vietnam Airlines promotion marks Ha Noi Liberation Day

Viet Nam Airlines has rolled out a promotion programme in the domestic market to mark the 60th anniversary of Ha Noi Liberation Day on October 10.

It is offering one-way tickets on flights linking HCM City to Da Lat, Buon Ma Thuot, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang at fares starting from VND399,000 (US$18.8), while one-way tickets on the Ha Noi – Chu Lai and HCM – Hue, Quy Nhon routes start at VND499,000 ($23.5).

In addition, promotional fares are also available on the Ha Noi-Da Lat, Buon Ma Thuot, Quy Nhon, Tuy Hoa and Can Tho route as well as the HCM City – Hai Phong, Vinh and Thanh Hoa route.

Booking should be done between September 22 and October 7 for travel from September 26 to November 30.

Locals work together to save Hoa Binh's protected forests

Local residents tell many stories about loggers and those who burn forest for cultivation, but people in Ngoc Son – Ngo Luong Nature Reserve in the northern province of Hoa Binh have done the opposite, joining hands to protect forest in the reserve.

The reserve's management board, the forestry self-management board and the communal people's committee recently signed an agreement on forest protection and development. Under the agreement, local households, mainly belonging to the Muong ethnic minority, committed not to transport illegally chopped wood or work with illegal loggers.

In addition to protecting forests, the agreement helps local people by offering lending and technological investment assistance, as well as giving them high priority in local economic development projects and programmes, support in tourism activities and land to cultivate.

"My family, as well as many other local people's, started planting corn and cassava," said Bui Van Lin, a resident living in the reserve. "Our lives have become more stable."

Lin is a member of the forestry self-management board in the Ngoc Son – Ngo Luong Nature Reserve. The reserve has diverse species of animals and plants, but until recently was plagued by illegal logging.

Before the reserve was established, the large, forested area belonged to local people. However, when it became a protected area, the reserve's management board took it over. Without much land to cultivate, local people cut down trees inside special-use forest to sell. Thinking the land was not theirs, they were unconcerned by the negative effects of these practices. The new preferential policies provide them with land to cultivate so they no longer have to exploit forest illegally.

"It took us more than one year to campaign and explain to relevant agencies and local people that the project could be implemented," said forest ranger Nguyen Binh Dinh.

The five participating hamlets organise regular group patrols. Households in the hamlets must patrol one or two days per month with members of the forestry self-management board.

Frequent patrols allow the board to detect violations more quickly. Patrollers can immediately stop violators, detain them and seize proof for a later investigation, or they can allow the board and People's Committee to deal with the violators.

Bui Binh Yen, director of the reserve management board, explained that while the project was still in the pilot stage, raising local people's awareness about protecting forests was an encouraging sign for the mountainous area.

Awareness was very low years ago, said Bui Van Tuong, deputy head of the self-management board in Khu Hamlet, Ngoc Son Commune, Lac Son District. People would sell wood, knowing the high value of many of the trees around them, in addition to using it for their own homes.

However, regular patrols by board members and local people curbed deforestation and illegal wood transportation. The forestry self-management board in Khu Hamlet seized 125 logs between April and June last year. The board in Roc Hamlet in Ngoc Son Commune also seized 23 logs.

There are four nature reserves in the northern province of Hoa Binh, covering 30,000 ha or 10 per cent of the province's total area. Ngoc Son – Ngo Luong Nature Reserve is the largest with 16,000 ha, including 12,000 ha of protected forest. Established in 2004 and officially opened in 2006, it covers seven communes within Tan Lac and Lac Son districts.

Nearly 33,500 Mekong Delta households escape poverty

A total of 33,480 Mekong Delta households have so far this year lifted themselves out of poverty, decreasing the region’s poverty rate from 7.2 percent in 2013 to 6 percent currently, according to the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region.

The committee highlighted the leading role of Can Tho City and Long An, Soc Trang, Hau Giang, Dong Thap, and Tra Vinh provinces in the work.

Until the end of this year, the region will undertake maximum efforts to help 11,000 families escape from poverty.

According to Nguyen Phong Quang, the committee’s deputy head, the achievements were attributable to concrete measures undertaken by the regional localities, such as increasing capital for vocational training from 10 percent to 12 percent, revising the vocational curriculum in line with poverty reduction measures, and developing a family-based economy and agricultural products.

In addition, the farmer’s union at all levels coordinated with the agriculture and fishery extension centre in providing training on farming and breeding techniques for local people, he added.

Can Tho city provided nearly 12,000 disadvantaged households with access to health care and insurance, as well as electricity. It also built houses for 4,838 poor families.

Meanwhile, An Giang and Tra Vinh provinces handed over more than 2,500ha of farm land to ethnic Khmer people.

In the near future, the Mekong Delta localities will train specialised officials, mobilise capital from different sources, promote technological transfers and create more jobs for local people, especially farmers without land, in a bid to help the rest of the population escape from poverty by 2020.-

Southern youngsters respond to call for traffic safety

More than 2,000 young people in Ho Chi Minh City took part in a traffic safety-themed festival at the Youth Cultural House on September 28.

The festival’s highlight was a forum during which participants discussed appropriate behaviours on the road, how to respond to accidents, and measures to improve public awareness of commuting safely and the Law on Road Traffic.

A photo exhibition, physical games and plays were held to convey traffic safety information to the youth who also engaged in activities sharpening their skills of riding motorcycles.

Organisers also presented quality helmets to 150 motorbike taxi drivers and members of volunteer teams to ensure local traffic safety.

On this occasion, the organising board launched a traffic safety week calling on the young to commute by buses and wear standard helmets.

As part of the festival, 60 police officers and 100 young people proceeded on their bicycles and motorbikes through HCM City’s main streets to deliver traffic safety messages to local dwellers.

Quang Ngai fishermen, poor patients receive donation

President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) Dang Ngoc Tung has presented 580 million VND (27,260 USD) to six fishermen in Binh Son and Ly Son districts in the central province of Quang Ngai, whose fishing vessels were damaged during accidents at sea.

During his working visit to Quang Ngai on September 27, Tung also handed over 300 million VND (14,100 USD) to the provincial Fund for poor patients.

The two donations are made by the “Golden Heart” Fund of Lao Dong Newspaper.

On September 28, the local Fishermen Support Fund and the People’s Committee of Ly Son district held a ceremony to hand over 136 million VND (6,392 USD) in assistance to five local fishermen in An Hai and An Vinh communes.

The money is intended to help the fishermen repair their ships and purchase fishing equipment.

Previously, a ship owner in Duc Pho district also received 15 million USD from the fund to equip her ship with the positioning system.

Through the activities, the fund hopes to help local fishermen become better equipped to go fishing at sea.

Pleiku Airport to be upgraded

The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has started work on upgrading Pleiku Airport in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai at a ceremony on September 28.

As announced, the airport’s runway, taxiway and parking space and other facilities will be upgraded and expanded to the west.

Notably, the runway will be expanded from 36m to 45m in width and from 1,830m to 2,400m in length so that the airport can handle A321, Boeing 737 and equivalent aircraft.

The construction project has an investment of 945 billion VND (44.5 million USD), co-funded by the State budget, the ACV and Gia Lai’s provincial budget. The project is due to be finished in 2015.

The upgraded airport would contribute greatly to the province’s development in terms of socio-economic growth and security, Tran Dai Quang, Minister of Public Security, also Head of the Central Steering Committee for Central Highlands region said at the construction start ceremony.-

Briton has $37,000 Ford car stolen in Vietnam's southern hub

Police in Ho Chi Minh City are searching for the culprit in the theft of a car from a British national, who reported the loss on Friday morning.

The car, worth about VND800 million (US$37,800), is owned by Collins Sean Michael, 33, whose wife is Vietnamese, 33-year-old Nguyen Phuong Khanh.

The couple lives in Canh Vien 1 condominium in Tan Phu Ward, District 7.

The couple told police that Khanh had left their Ford Everest on the grounds of the condominium and went up to her apartment on Friday morning.

A while later, her husband, Collins, arrived to take the car, but he could not find it.

He then told his wife about the theft and asked her to report it to the district police for help.

A social crime investigation police team from the District 7 Police arrived at the apartment to examine the scene and talk to neighbors to collect information related to the theft.

Police have launched an investigation and are searching for the culprit.

Campaign calls for joint efforts to end gender imbalance at birth

A campaign was launched in Hanoi on September 28 to call for more efforts from the Government and relevant agencies to stop the gender imbalance at birth, one of the forms of discrimination.

Launched by the Vietnam Farmers’ Association (VFA), the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the campaign is also to raise public awareness of the causes and consequences of choosing the gender of baby.

In his opening speech, VFA President Nguyen Quoc Cuong said the gender ratio at birth remains high in Vietnam , increasing to 113.8 boys per 100 girls in 2013 from 106.2 boys per 100 girls in 2000, and the trend is growing.

I f the situation is not improved, Vietnam is likely to see 2.3 to 4.3 million men unable to find wives by 2050, he added.|

He attributed the gender imbalance at birth to preconceptions that prefer son to daughter, saying this brings about negative impacts on the country’s population structure in the future.

Arthur Erken, UNFPA Chief Representative in Vietnam, said the gender inequality and the underestimation of women and girls are the root causes of the newborn gender imbalance.

This requires measures to bring the equality to women and girls in order to ensure their human rights and dignity, she said, noting that the men also need to get involved in changing the social and cultural preconceptions.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet, VWU Vice Chairwoman pledged to further increase communication efforts, thus improving the role women in families and the society.

In the framework of the event, several workshops and conferences will be organised in Hanoi, northern provinces of Hai Duong an Bac Ninh to promote the campaign.-

Quang Ninh launches tourism slogan competition

The northern province of Quang Ninh, home to stunning landscapes and important historical relics, launched a competition to find a new tourism slogan and logo.

The province is highly attractive for tourists, boasting Ha Long Bay, Bach Dang and Yen Tu relic sites, and a number of international border gates.

This year, the province is expecting 7.5 million tourists, including 2.8 million international visitors. By 2030, the province hopes to become a world-class tourism hub offering modern infrastructure and impeccable services.

The competition runs until April 14, 2015, with the best 30-50 entries exhibited publicly and put to a vote.

Recognised as one of the seven natural wonders of the world in March 2012, Ha Long Bay has recorded 28.8 million arrivals since 1996, including 14.2 million international tourists and generating over 1.4 trillion VND (67 million USD).

To maintain Ha Long Bay’s status, Quang Ninh has undertaken maximum efforts to protect the surrounding environment. All industry, mining and mass transport are located outside of Ha Long city centre.

Waste is taken ashore for treatment, while cruise operators have become more environmentally-conscious.

So far, the province has implemented 65 environmental projects worth more than 500 billion VND (23.8 million USD), and most of them are proving successful.

The locality is working on a detailed master plan on Ha Long Bay management and projects to assess its water quality and biodiversity.

Recently, Quang Ninh called for more foreign investment to protect the bay from pollution.

American doctor returns to Vietnam, removes tumors from five patients

Famed U.S. plastic surgeon McKay McKinnon, in collaboration with doctors at FV Hospital (FVH) in Ho Chi Minh City, has spent three days removing facial tumors from five Vietnamese patients.

The patients include Nguyen Hoang Thien An, a 19-year-old girl from the resort city of Vung Tau, who had surgery on September 24; 32-year-old Le Hoang Em and 22-year-old Kieu Thi My Dung, who were operated on on September 25; and Nguyen Thi Anh Thi, 26, as well as Nguyen Mai Tho, 17, who had surgery on September 26.

The operations were led by Dr. McKinnon, and assisted by FVH’s medical team, including Dr. Nguyen Quang Dai, head of the Otolaryngology Department; Dr. Gerard Desvignes, head of General Surgery; FVH’s Medical Director, Dr. Roswitha Budge-Wolfram; and Dr. Dao Thi My Van, head of Anaesthesia and ICU.

The first patient, Thien An, was sent to the operating room at 3:00pm and was anaesthetized for about an hour. The surgical team started operating on her at around 4:00pm, and successfully finished their work at 8:30 pm yesterday.

According to McKinnon, Thien An is expected to have a good-looking face, with the tumor almost completely removed, and her nose and right eye reconstructed.

In July of last year, An was operated on by the U.S. doctor for the first time.

An developed a small lump on the right side of her face when she was nearly one year old. The lump grew bigger and eventually turned into a large tumor which destroyed her face, while An’s family couldn’t afford treatment.

When An was 12 years old, her parents had collected enough money and took her to the a hospital in Tien Giang for surgery, but the tumor grew quickly after the operation.

In 2008, the she was admitted to the HCMC Oncology Hospital for another operation to cut the tumor. Once again, it re-developed quickly.

In 2013, Thien An was among several patients with serious facial tumors selected by the VinaCapital Foundation, a charitable organization, to be examined or operated on by American doctor McKinnon for free.

In early July, Thien An had several health and facial examinations at FVH. On July 29, Dr. McKinnon came for the last consultation and decided to operate on the patient as soon as possible.

Thien An is a poor student with good grades, so she was financially supported by Vovicare, a charity society run by overseas Vietnamese in Australia. She is currently a student at Nguyen Tat Thanh University in HCMC’s District 4.

Vovicare and the Vinacapital Foundation jointly covered the cost of McKinnon’s charity trip to Vietnam, as well as all the operations he has performed so far.

Besides Thien An, Dr. McKinnon removed 95 percent of a massive tumor from the face of Le Hoang Em, a 31-year-old Vietnamese man, who had also been operated on by the doctor previously.

On January 5, 2012, Dr. McKinnon finished his massive operation on Nguyen Duy Hai and removed an 82-kilogram tumor on his leg, which had caused suffering for years.

McKinnon has long been known as one of the best surgeons for complex tumor cases thought impossible to remove. His best known cases include Lori Hoogewind, an American woman with a 90.7-kilogram tumor; and Lucica Bunghez, a Romanian who had an 80-kilogram growth.

McKinnon’s most serious tumor cases are usually turned down by big hospitals, even in America, who thought removing these extremely large lumps was too dangerous for the patients. Over the years, the surgeon has saved hundreds of patients and returned them to normal lives and appearances. Rarely giving interviews about his work, he has quietly and tirelessly concentrated on his work, with a confidence built by years of training and experience.

Mekong Delta’s typical goods to be sold in supermarkets

Ninety percent goods that being sold at supermarkets in the Mekong delta province of Can Tho are Vietnamese products including textile, household appliances, fresh foods, vegetables…

Accordingly, in the first eight months of 2014, turnover of eight supermarkets reached VND 1,572billion.

Can Tho has 31 enterprises and cooperatives that are able to supply goods for supermarkets however, it seems not meet enough demand because reality, goods supplying for local supermarkets are from Ho Chi Minh’s enterprises.

Ms Duong Thi Nam, Director of Co.op Mart Can Tho said the Can Tho specialties have still not been introduced to Co.op Mart, we have to buy goods from HCMC, it is necessary to overcome this situation in upcoming times.

Mr Le Hung Dung, Chairman of Can Tho People’s Committee has asked Can Tho Investment Promotion Center to link supermarkets, commercial centers, enterprises and cooperatives in the province, aiming to select the provincial typical and high quality goods that meet the supermarkets’ demand in order to sell since now till later on.

HCMC has no report of surge of pinkeye patients

The Ministry of Health has warned of spread of pinkeye in some northern areas, especially Hanoi, which is affecting thousands of people.

Fortunately, Dr. Nguyen Huu Hung, deputy head of the Department of Health in Ho Chi Minh City September 26 said that the city has no record of the surge of the disease

Some pinkeye patients were seen on the day in the Eye Hospital but the cause of the disease in Ho Chi Minh City is diferent from not the virus spreading in Hanoi.

The Ministry of Health has warned that patients would have pinkeye and rheum. The symptoms of pinkeye differ based on the cause of the inflammation, but may include redness in the white of the eye or inner eyelid; Increased amount of tears; Thick yellow discharge that crusts over the eyelashes; and itchy eyes.

Normally, patients can see as usual but if the disease gets worse, their visualizations will be poor and bleeding will occur under the conjunctiva.

Accordingly, the ministry asked departments of health and preventive medicine centers nationwide to implement measures against the disease. Under the guideline, hospitals and eye hospitals have to isolate pinkeye patients to prevent or reduce the risk of spreading. Medical clinics have to provide patients with hand sanitizer and disinfectants.

150 young farmers honored in Hanoi

The Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union granted the 9th Luong Dinh Cua Award to 150 outstanding young farmers in Hanoi on September 27.

The awardees include 24 ethnics, one doctor degree, 22 owners of businesses in rural areas, and cooperative chairmen. Among them are owners of 35 production and trading modals yielding VND1-10 billion every year.

Stating at the awarding ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh hoped that the Luong Dinh Cua laureates  would be the main factors of emulation movements in good production and trading in the rural areas, contributing in the country’s campaign of building new rural areas.

Besides, the organization board offered certificates of merit by the Prime Minister to four best young farmers including a Thai ethnic man, a bee farm owner in Tuyen Quang Province, a seafood entrepreneur, and a cooperative chairman in Ca Mau Province.

Vietnam man indicted for lacing shipments to Japan with raticide, human feces

A Vietnamese man has been charged with “destroying and damaging property” for allegedly putting human feces, rat poison, and other things into a local firm’s seafood products, which were exported to Japan this year.

Between May and June 2014, human feces and raticide were found in five of 887 seafood packages that Rich Beauty Vietnam, located in the northern province of Thai Binh, exported to Japan.

The scandal has caused the exporter to suffer massive economic losses, postpone production, and have its prestige damaged, the firm complained.

Suspect Tran Xuan Trinh, 35, fled from the company after the incident. He was arrested on September 17 while farming for a relative in Chu Pong Commune in Chu Se District of the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

Trinh confessed to police that he was dissatisfied with the huge workload he had to do every day at the company. He added that he was required to work 13 to 14 hours a day and two Sundays per month.

For that reason, he came up with an idea of putting human feces, rat poison, knives, and screws into the company’s shipments to Japan with the intention of ruining its reputation.

He thought that if the firm’s prestige was tainted, it would have fewer orders, leading to him having more days off.

The man is now in police detention.

Trinh could face a jail term of up to 20 years or life sentence if convicted under the Vietnamese Penal Code.

Public concern banned chemical residues in animal meat, veggies

At a meeting on September 25 in Hanoi presided by Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Cao Duc Phat, many representatives of food safety management agencies said that the threats of banned chemicals use in breeding and dangerous pesticide on vegetables are alarming.

Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Phat said that public gets angry over contaminated veggies. Nguyen Xuan Hong, head of the Plant Protection Department, under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, confirmed the situation adding that his department is going to issue a circular to tighten control over pesticide usage.

Moreover, not only normal veggies  but imported agricultural produces are soaped with chemicals. Some importer countries have warned over pepper contaminated with pesticide residues.

Following the warning, the Plant Protection Department has taken 30 percent of pepper samples for testing and discovering one sample has higher pesticide content than the allowed rate.

Related agencies also discovered through tests that 13 over 30 samples of pork meat from nearby provinces such as  Binh Duong, Ben Tre, Dong Nai and Binh Thuan have excessive content of sulfadimidin.

The Animal Health Department continued testing pork and chicken meat importing into HCMC. Tests result showed that two samples are contaminated with banned chemicals including one chicken meat with chloramphenicol and one pork meat with salbutamol.

Second information center in Hoi An opened

Hoi An Culture, Sport Center opened a information center for tourists at 62 Bach Dang, Hoi An City on September 25.

The new center is located at an ancient house. Touring to Hoi An, tourists will not only visit ancient houses but also discover Hoianese livings and take part in community activities.

This is the second information center in Hoian City, the first one is located at 31 Nguyen Thai Hoc street.

Hanoi to honour top ten citizens

The ten most outstanding citizens of Hanoi, including musician Phu Quang, Doctor Nguyen Tien Quyet and Colonel Tran Duc Long, will be honoured on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the capital.

Phu Quang is the composer of many great songs about Hanoi such as "Em Oi Ha Noi Pho" or "Oh, The Streets of Hanoi", "Im Lang Dem Hanoi" or "Hanoi’s Silent Night", "Lang Dang Chieu Dong Ha Noi" or "Another Winter Afternoon of Hanoi," etc.

Phu Quang wrote many well-known songs about Hanoi.

Doctor Nguyen Tien Quyet is head of Viet Duc Hospital, the nation's leading hospital on surgery. Quyet takes special interest in training doctors for his and other hospitals in Hanoi, such as well Duc Giang Hospital, Nam Thang Long Hospital and Bac Thang Long hospitals.

Tran Duc Long, chief inspector of Hanoi police, used to directly oversee drug and criminal investigations, as well as consult the Board of Directors of the Municipal Police on drug prevention.

The list of ten most outstanding citizens of Hanoi also includes Duong Tuan Anh, a driver for Hanoibus line 50; Lam Van Bang, curator of the Museum  for Revolutionary Prisoners; Nguyen Thi Hien, former teacher at Vietnam National University's Hanoi College of Foreign Languages; Nguyen Thi Nga, chairman of SEABANK and CEO cum chairman of BGR Group; Phung Manh Thuc, chairman of the Former Youth Volunteers of Hoa Thach Ward, Quoc Oai District; artisan Nguyen Ngoc Trong; and Ho Huong Nam, former teacher at Hoang Hoa Tham Primary School.

From now up to the anniversary, many other art and cultural activities will be held in the city. On the evening of Oct. 10, Hanoi will have fireworks shows in 30 locations, the largest displays to be at Hoan Kiem Lake, Thong Nhat Park, West Lake, Van Quan Lake and My Dinh National Stadium.

Twenty-five other locations are distributed throughout the districts such as Dong Da, Thanh Xuan, Bac Tu Lien, Ba Dinh, Cau Giay, Phu Xuyen and Ung Hoa.

Hanoi organises drill on Ebola prevention

The Hanoi Department of Health on September 27 ran an exercise to prepare medical staff for a possible Ebola outbreak in case the virus, which is spreading rapidly across West Africa, enters Vietnam.

A simulation scenario was created in Uy No commune, Dong Anh district, implying that a Vietnamese guest worker returned from Ebola-hit Nigeria and developed symptoms of fever, headache and muscle aches.

Responses were carried out with joint efforts by the patient’s family, local authorities and hospital staff.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Head of the municipal Health Department Hoang Duc Hanh called upon the involved agencies to remain prepared to tackle the virus if it occurs in the country.

A short training course on preventive measures and responses against Ebola virus was organised in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong from September 22-27.

The current outbreak of Ebola, which is spread via contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, such as sweat and blood, has killed at least 3,091 people in West Africa, according to the World Health Organisation’s statistics on September 26.

No Ebola infections have been reported in Vietnam so far.

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