The Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health yesterday warned people of seasonal flu prevention.
Seasonal flu is an acute contagious disease that can lead to hospitalization and even death. Its symptoms are high fever, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, sore throat and cough.
Viruses causing seasonal flu are also viruses to cause A/H3N2, A/H1N1, B and C flu. Flu viruses are spread mainly by droplets made when people with flu cough, sneeze or talk.
These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Accordingly, the Ministry advised people to prevent the disease, people should stay away from sick people and stay home if sick.
It also is important to wash hands often with soap and water; cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze, immunization, avoid close contact with sick people. While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them and rush to nearby medical facilities for early treatment.
Health experts said that as usual, seasonal flu patients will recover within two or seven days yet the disease will develop seriously with complications on children, elder people and people with chronic disease it even can lead to deaths.
To actively supervise virus strains in the country, the Ministry of health has implemented a system to keep track on the flu virus strain and on acute respiratory infections since the early 2016 as well as well as promote testing and diagnosing of factors which cause seasonal flu.
The National Flu Center with its office in the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City conducted a study which showed that no new flu virus strain or virus to cause drug-resistance are detected in Vietnam.
The study also showed that in 2015 and six first months of 2016, virus A/H3 is the major virus circulating in the Southeast Asian nation, next is A/H1N1 virus and B virus. It additionally showed that around 1 million to 1.8 million flu cases annually caused by viruses A/H3N2, A/H1N1 and B.
