Of the newly-infected cases, several patients are students who contracted the disease in Ho Chi Minh City and then transmitted the deadly virus to others when travelling to the Central Highlands for summer holidays.

The Health Ministry’s Preventive Medicine Department said close to 400 patients have recovered and been discharged from hospital. The rest are being quarantined and treated and are all in stable condition.

The department warned of the transmission of A/H1N1 influenza among those who use means of public transport, particularly students as they have not been aware of the danger and the spread of the epidemic.

Southern provinces, such as Khanh Hoa, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Lam Dong, Binh Duong, Dong Thap, Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, and Long An have detected A/H1N1 cases among students studying in Ho Chi Minh City’s Ngo Thoi Nhiem and Nguyen Khuyen schools who came back home for summer vacation.

In a telegram issued on July 25, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asked the entire political system to take part in the fight against A/H1N1 flu as the disease showed initial signs of spreading into communities.

The government leader required heads of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, and cities and provinces to promptly carry out urgent measures to prevent A/H1N1 flu from spreading.

He asked the media and other means of communication to raise public awareness of flu preventive measures so as to get the entire people involved in combating the disease.

PM Dung asked the Health Minister to closely monitor developments of the disease and to prepare necessary medicines and medical facilities for treatment.

The PM also ordered the Ministry of Education and Training to provide teachers and students with guidance on flu preventive measures and issue a temporary closure of schools, if need be, in order to prevent the disease from spreading widely.

Since the first A/H1N1 flu case was discovered in Vietnam on May 30, 2009, the disease remained under control with no fatalities reported so far.