VietNamNet Bridge – The mortality rate of coronavirus infection is likely to jump to 55 percent, said Tran Dac Phu, Deputy Head of the Health Ministry's Preventive Medicine Department.

The virus might transmit from human to human by close contact, according to recent investigations, he said.

Since last September, 55 cases of coronavirus infection were reported in the world with 31 deaths in eight nations including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Quatar, Germany, France, Tunisia and Italy.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) emphasized that coronavirus is growing at an “alarming rate” like the H5N1 and H7N9 viruses which were discovered in China last March. However, the international body has not yet warned residents of limiting their travel.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has closely monitored passengers travelling from the infected areas to discover suspected cases if there are any, while instructing local health workers to take preventive measures.

According to Dr Pham Thi Thanh Thuy, deputy head of the Infectious Diseases Department of Bach Mai Hospital said the MoH has issued detailed guidelines to all medical stations on the detection of symptoms such as cough, fever and pneumonia.

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) and the Pasteur Institute in HCM City have not yet found any case of coronavirus infection so far in the country.

Source: VOV