The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) of China has recently released a notice warning against the possible entry of cholera patients from Vietnam.

The notice requested passengers arriving from Vietnam, where a cholera epidemic has infected about 1,000 people since the beginning of October, to report any symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea immediately to quarantine officials after entering China.

Entry-exit quarantine departments, especially those bordering Vietnam, should step up checks on the health and body temperatures of those arriving in China and offer treatment to carriers or suspected carriers of the disease, said the notice.

All vehicles, cargo, containers, luggage and parcels from Vietnam should undergo strict quarantine and disinfection treatment, it said.

The notice also reminded domestic passengers traveling to Vietnam to ascertain the epidemic situation there first and avoid contaminated shrimp sauce, uncooked vegetables and seafood, or other possibly contaminated food and drinks in cholera-infected areas.

(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2007)