A Vietnamese man who is suspected of having Ebola after showing a high fever, was tested positive for Malaria, said Tran Dac Phu, head of the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health on November 1.
Yet the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology has kept testing for Ebola; accordingly he is still under close scrutiny within 21 days. The man who arrived from Guinea a few days ago is being monitor in the Da Nang General Hospital.
Guinea is one of three countries in West Africa affected by Ebola.
That man, 26, named Chu Van Chung from the northern province of Thanh Hoa, landed in Vietnam through Ho Chi Minh City-based Tan Son Nhat Airport on October 30. He did make a health declaration when he did not have fever.
Next day, he arrived in Da Nang City in the Central Vietnam and then he had a high fever (up to 40 degrees C); thus he came to Hoan My Hospital for examination where doctors discovered he has just returned from an Ebola hit nation.
Immediately, he was transported to Da Nang Hospital where he is being fully isolated and receiving special medical attention. The hospital received the suspected patient in accordance with guidelines for diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) promulgated by Vietnam’s Ministry of Health.
The man is sound mind and just has fever and headache without exhibiting "signs and symptoms of Ebola". A blood specimen was collected and will be sent to National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology for Ebola testing.
The Department of Preventive Medicine has asked the health authority in Da Nang City to monitor the case closely and update the information of his disease to prepare for the next step. Along with isolating him, all people who had contacted him are under close scrutiny.
