Hanoi (VNA) – The health sector isprompting actions to prevent the acute pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus(nCoV) from entering Vietnam and gear up to deal with it if infections arereported.

The Ministry of Health (MoH)’s steeringcommittee for the prevention and control of dangerous and emerging diseasesheld an urgent meeting in Hanoi on January 15 to discuss measures to cope withthis disease.

The MoH’s General Department of PreventiveMedicine said on January 14, the infectious disease monitoring system found twoChinese nationals from Wuhan city to show fever symptoms at Da NangInternational Airport. The two have been isolated and placed under closemonitoring. Samples from them have been sent to the Pasteur Institute in NhaTrang city for testing.

Pending testing results, the Health Departmentof Da Nang city has implemented strict measures to prevent infection at localmedical establishments. The MoH has sent a working group to the central city tostep up disease prevention and control activities, the general department said.

According to the World Health Organisation(WHO), cases of acute pneumonia caused by nCoV were reported in Wuhan city ofChina’s Hubei province. The first patient developed symptoms on December 12,2019, and the number of cases reached 59 as of January 15, including sevensevere cases, one death, two fully recovered, and others in stable condition.There is no clear evidence of human-to-human transmission.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Xuan Tuyen saidVietnam hasn’t recorded any cases of infection. However, the entry of thisdisease into the country is completely possible since Vietnam has constanttrading and tourism activities with China.

In January and February, the MoH will send moreworking groups to examine disease prevention and control at hospitals andlocalities bordering China. It has also ordered localities to take activemeasures to prevent the disease and stay ready to handle and treat infectioncases if there are any.

The ministry will also keep close coordinationwith the WHO to update people on the latest information about this disease,Tuyen added.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that causeillness in the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract of humans and someanimals. They can spread through direct contact with respiratory secretions ofpatients. 

In humans, coronaviruses cause illnesses inwinter and early spring, ranging from the common cold to more severe diseaseslike Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute RespiratorySyndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus is a new strain that has notbeen previously identified in humans./.