Via Thanh Nien Daily, a long and informative report: Vietnam relies on ‘luck,’ science in battle against deadly skin disease. The conclusion:
On Monday, Saigon Tiep Thi quoted a representative of WHO as saying that the organization has yet to receive any proposal regarding the strange skin condition in Quang Ngai.
Meanwhile, the paper noted, the residents of the affected communes continue to live in a heightened state of anxiety and desperation.
“One delegation after another has come to take samples of our blood, hair, nails […] but the disease has yet to be identified,” said Pham Van Dang, an elderly man in Reu Village, Ba Dien Commune. “Villagers are still dying from the disease and the number of afflicted residents continues to rise.”
Dang stressed that the residents do not distrust the doctors, but dozens of physicians have visited their community for months and the plague continues to rage on.
Dang said that, on May 7, members of the village gathered in prayer to ask God to save them.
However, following the ceremony, two more villagers succumbed to the illness.
“Several people are now waiting to die, too,” he said. Pham Van Hien, another resident of Reu village, said that, since last year, six of his relatives have fallen ill due to the disease.
Following the death of his three-year-old grandson, Pham Van Sam, last October, Hien’s family held a prayer ceremony. However, after that the condition of Sam’s mother and Hien’s daughter, 26-year-old Pham Thi An, only got worse.
The young woman was admitted to the Quy Hoa National Leprosy Dermatology Hospital in nearby Binh Dinh Province for treatment. After three months in the hospital, with no signs of improvement, “she became so fed up that she came home,” Hien said.
But, the local authorities managed to convince An to return to the hospital, said Le Han Phong, chairman of Ba To District’s People’s Committee, which manages Ba Dien Commune.
Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Duong, head of Ba Dien Elementary – Secondary School, said that, since the disease broke out last April, the student population has decreased day by day.
Many fell sick. Some died. Others left the village with their families, hoping to escape the disease, he said.
About ten families have evacuated from Ba Dien Commune, according to Pham Thi Nga, vice chairman of the Ba Dien Commune People’s Committee.
“Since the disease broke out, the whole commune has done nothing but worry about the strange illness,” Nga said.
