HCMC – Hundreds of residents in Dak Nong Province’s Quang Hoa Commune have been quarantined, after a girl from the commune died of diphtheria.
Doctor Ha Van Hung, deputy director of the Dak Nong Department of Health, told VnExpress on June 22 that 71 households with 355 people living in Hamlet 6 in Quang Hoa Commune have been quarantined, while the government of the commune has set up two quarantine teams and checkpoints.
Some 550 people who are being quarantined and those who came into close contact with persons suspected of having diphtheria will get vaccines for four more days to wipe out the disease, Hung said.
On June 19, a nine-year-old girl residing in Dak Glong District’s Quang Hoa Commune was sent to Dak Nong General Hospital after presenting symptoms such as cough, sore throat and shortness of breath. A day later, she reportedly died of diphtheria, which damaged her heart.
Meanwhile, a nine-year-old boy identified as Ma Van Thanh, who came into contact with the girl, was also hospitalized. He is in the intensive care unit of the hospital.
After the two cases of diphtheria were detected, the provincial Department of Health asked the authorities to disinfect all the households in Village 2 in Hamlet 6, Be Van Dan Primary School and the commune’s healthcare center, Tuoi Tre Online reported.
In mid-June, four children aged nine to 15 years in Krong No District’s Dak Sor Commune tested positive for diphtheria.
