Ministry of Health steps up surveillance amid Ebola risk

Ho Chi Minh City is pioneering efforts to expand access to quality healthcare by deploying doctors and extending hospital services to remote and island areas, as part of its push toward universal health coverage.

Health experts warned that prolonged heat exposure could cause heatstroke, heat exhaustion and other serious health conditions. High-risk groups include the elderly, children, pregnant women, people working or exercising outdoors for long periods, and those suffering from chronic illnesses such as hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and diabetes.

Ho Chi Minh City's free health examination programme, set to begin on May 25, is carried out at qualified healthcare facilities, mobile clinics at schools, factories and businesses, community-based screening sites arranged by local authorities, as well as through home visits to elderly residents, people living alone and those with limited mobility.

Medical facilities were instructed to strengthen surveillance, especially for individuals who have travelled to or returned from outbreak-hit countries or areas within the previous 21 days. They were also asked to strictly enforce infection control measures, including protective procedures, screening, triage and isolation protocols for suspected or confirmed Ebola cases.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has acknowledged the proactive efforts of Vietnam’s Ministry of Health and the Government’s urgent direction in preparing the system and strengthening response capacity to the Ebola virus outbreak.

On the morning of May 19th, in Hanoi, the First National Congress of the Vietnam Association for the Protection of People with Disabilities, for the term 2026-2031, held its session in an atmosphere of enthusiasm, solemnity, unity, and innovation, upholding the tradition of solidarity, compassion, and social responsibility as the country enters a new era. Ms. Ha Thi Nga, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Vice President and General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, attended and delivered an important speech guiding the Congress.

The hospital announced on May 19 that the patient, a 12-year-old boy, recovered well after surgery, remained fully conscious and showed no new focal neurological deficits. Post-operative imaging indicated that the tumour had been almost completely removed. Doctors are continuing close monitoring and preparing further treatment plans to support the child’s full recovery.

Under the directive, the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Disease Control has been instructed to tighten surveillance at border gates by monitoring incoming travellers for unusual health symptoms, carefully reviewing epidemiological factors, travel histories and accommodation records, and coordinating closely with aviation, maritime and international health quarantine authorities to promptly detect suspected cases.

The Drug Administration of Vietnam has issued a nationwide recall of a batch of 0.9% Sodium Chloride eye drops produced by Pharmedic Pharmaceutical and Medicinal Materials Joint Stock Company after the product failed to meet required clarity standards.

The plan sets out concrete tasks and solutions to fully institutionalise the directive, while guiding ministries, sectors and localities in implementing, monitoring and evaluating policies to ensure more effective health insurance coverage, with the goal of achieving universal coverage by 2030.