Following instructions from the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, the Da Nang Department of Health is making every effort to monitor bubonic plague at local border gates and sea ports in order to prevent penetration of this epidemic into the city.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Department’s Deputy Director, Mrs Ngo Thi Kim Yen, affirmed that no bubonic plague cases have been reported in Viet Nam over the past 10 years.  However, Da Nang has always paid the special attention to keeping a close eye on ships arriving at the Da Nang port because bubonic plague could arrive in the city from ship-borne mice carrying plague-infected fleas.  Currently, the city’s Centre for International Health Quarantine is responsible for checking and killing any mice at port warehouses, as well as taking effective measures to prevent any possibility of a bubonic plague outbreak in the city.