Hanoi Tightens Airport Health Checks Amid Congo Mysterious Disease Outbreak

HANOI, Dec 17 (Bernama-VNA) -- The Hanoi Centre for Disease Control has been tightening health checks at the Noi Bai International Airport amid Congo mysterious disease outbreak, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

The move aims to early detect any cases of infection or suspicion in order to take appropriate and timely response measures.

Previously, on December 12, the Department of Preventive Medicine under the Health Ministry issued an urgent notice regarding cases of unknown disease in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) which were recorded by an infectious disease surveillance system on December 10.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), from October 24 to December 5, 2024, the Panzi health zone in Kwango province of the DRC reported 416 cases of unknown disease, with 31 fatalities marking a mortality rate of 7.6 per cent.

The disease’s symptoms include fever, headache, cough, runny nose, and muscle pain. Most cases are in children (53 per cent of cases and 54.8 per cent of deaths are under 5 years old). All severe cases were found to be severely malnourished.

Some countries in Asia and Southeast Asia also assess the risk of disease transmission from the DRC as low, given the very few travelers from that region and the absence of direct flights from the DRC.

WHO has supported the DRC in deploying rapid response teams, managing cases, collecting samples for pathogen testing, and conducting prevention and control activities in the outbreak areas. As of December 10, updated information from WHO indicated that 10 out of 12 initial test samples were positive for malaria.

Vietnam’s Department of Preventive Medicine has closely followed the developments of the disease outbreak in the DRC. It’s also coordinating with WHO and countries' related agencies to update and share information about the disease.

In case of new developments, the department will collaborate with WHO and relevant units to assess risks and propose appropriate response measures, including strengthening health quarantine.

-- BERNAMA-VNA