Communicable diseases from around the world could enter Việt Nam and spread easily if the country does not improve prevention and control. He said that this year, the health sector would continue strengthening regular health monitoring at border gates and health centres in order to better detect diseases, report them promptly, and take action before a disease has the chance to spread in Việt Nam. The Director of the Preventive Medicine Department also said that this year, the Health Ministry planned to improve Emergency Operations Centres (EOC) at major hospitals and Pasteur institutes. The centres are expected to connect the health ministry to domestic and international partners in response to public health emergencies of international concern, preventing them from spreading. 219 cases of the Zika virus were in Việt Nam last year, and 13 cases this year.

Source: Viet Nam News February 16, 2017 04:03 UTC