Hanoi (VNA) – Swine flu A/H1N1 is one of the three most commonseasonal influenza strains in Vietnam, with at least five deaths recorded sincethe beginning of this year.

According to theDepartment of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, the countryreported about 208,800 seasonal flu cases in the first half of this year, withflu B and flu A/H3N2 also common.

The return of fluA/H1N1 in June has caused public concern, especially in Ho Chi Minh City andthe two southern provinces of Ca Mau and Vinh Long which saw fatalities.

In Ho Chi MinhCity, two outbreaks of A/H1N1 flu strain occurred at Tu Du hospital and Cho RayHospital last month, with 40 patients testing positive for the virus.

The A/H1N1 viruscauses a respiratory infection with symptoms of a fever, cold, cough, andheadache. The virus spreads to the respiratory system, causing other symptomssuch as wheezing and phlegm.

Patients sufferingfrom A/H1N1 flu and seasonal flu normally recover after a week.

However, pregnantwomen, infants and young children under two years old and people over 65 are atelevated risks of complications arising from flu, with death a possibilitywithout timely treatment.

The Ministry ofHealth said that one of the best preventive measures is vaccination. It alsoadvised the public to upgrade personal hygiene, emphasising the basics ofcovering their mouths and noses when coughing or sneezing, washing one’s handswith soap and maintaining clean rooms.

If members of thepublic have symptoms such as fever, cold, or cough, they are asked to wear facemasks,go to their local health clinics and avoid using self-prescribed drugs withouta doctor’s instructions.

Vietnam previouslyexperienced an H1N1 pandemic in 2009, with more than 9,000 cases of peoplecontracting the disease and nearly twenty deaths in four months, according tothe ministry.

Doctor Truong HuuKhanh from HCM City Children’s Hospital 1 said A/H1N1 flu was infectious butfatalities only happen to those who had weak immune systems.

Tests showed thatthis is the old type of the H1N1 virus that broke out worldwide in 2009 andvaccinations against the virus are successful, according to Khanh.

It could onlycause an epidemic if a new type of virus appeared with a modified structure, hesaid.-VNA