Head of the Preventive Health Department under the Ministry of Health (MoH) Tran Dac Phu issued the warning at an online meeting on prevention work in Hanoi on June 23.
Phu said although no MERS-CoV cases have been detected in Vietnam yet, prevention work should be strengthened at international border gates.
The MoH announced on June 20 that all passengers flying from the Middle East will be required to fill in the medical declaration form as of July 1.
MoH Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien asked three international airports – Hanoi, Danang and Tan Son Nhat – to implement medical declaration procedures for all passengers coming from 9 Middle East countries.
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At the online meeting, Phu also announced Vietnam has not recorded any cases of avian flu types A/H7N9, but two people have died of the deadly avian flu strain A/H5N1 in Binh Phuoc and Dong Thap province since the beginning of the year after coming into contact with infected poultry.
He said the number of cases infected with other contagious diseases declined compared to last year’s figure, and no big outbreaks have been recorded so far this year.
MoH statistics show since early this year, around 31,139 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease (HFM) have been detected in 63 provinces and cities (down 7.6%), including two deaths in Long An and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces.
Vietnam has also confirmed 11,148 cases of dengue fever in 42 provinces and cities (down 45.2%), including 7 fatalities in Ho Chi Minh City (3), Binh Duong (1), Ca Mau (1), Binh Phuoc (1) and Phu Yen (1).
There have also been 319 cases of viral encephalitis, including four fatalities.
Phu said the healthcare sector will coordinate with relevant agencies to complete guidelines on dengue fever and Streptococcus suis prevention and carry out Rubella vaccination campaign for children aged 1-14.
It will also apply innovative software to monitor contagious diseases in 63 provinces and cities.
The sector will focus on disseminating information to raise public awareness of prevention measures against the diseases via mass of media or workshops.