Home Regulations on Conditions for Declaring an Epidemic and Declaring the End of an Infectious Disease Epidemic (Consolidated Document No. 15/VBHN-BYT)

The Ministry of Health has issued Consolidated Document No. 15/VBHN-BYT detailing the conditions for declaring an epidemic and declaring the end of an infectious disease epidemic. This is an important legal basis helping medical facilities and state management agencies to uniformly implement disease surveillance and control, ensuring community health safety. Below are the key contents regarding this process and conditions.

1. Conditions for Declaring an Infectious Disease Epidemic

According to regulations, the declaration of an infectious disease epidemic must be based on the danger level of the disease (Group A, B, or C) and the actual spread situation. Specifically, the conditions are as follows:

  • For Group A infectious diseases: The condition to declare an epidemic is when at least one patient is confirmed to have the disease at the time of the outbreak. Group A diseases include especially dangerous diseases such as Influenza A (H5N1), plague, smallpox, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, etc.
  • For Group B infectious diseases: An epidemic is declared when two conditions are met: (1) The number of cases exceeds the average number of cases for the same period in the last 03 years; (2) There is at least one risk factor (such as increased outbreak scale, high mortality rate, or the causative agent has changed in virulence).
  • For Group C infectious diseases: Similar to Group B, an epidemic is declared when the number of cases exceeds the average of the same period in the last 03 years, and there is an abnormal change in epidemiology or causative agent that needs to be controlled.

2. Authority to Declare an Infectious Disease Epidemic

Determining the correct authority to declare an epidemic ensures the timely mobilization of resources for epidemic control:

  • The Prime Minister issues the decision to declare an epidemic for Group A infectious diseases when the epidemic spreads rapidly from one province to another, seriously affecting human health.
  • The Minister of Health issues the decision to declare an epidemic for Group A infectious diseases when two or more provinces/centrally-run cities have the epidemic. Simultaneously, the Minister declares an epidemic upon the proposal of the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee for Group A diseases and certain Group B diseases when there is a risk of regional spread.
  • The Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee: Declares epidemics for Group B and Group C infectious diseases occurring within the province.

3. Conditions for Declaring the End of an Infectious Disease Epidemic

To declare the end of an epidemic, the locality or nation must ensure that the source of infection has been completely controlled and there is no longer a risk of spreading to the community. Specific conditions include:

Firstly, no new cases are detected after a specific period prescribed for each disease (calculated from the day the last patient was isolated at a medical facility). For example: Plague is 10 days; Cholera, Diphtheria, Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever is 14 days; Influenza A (H5N1) is 21 days; Acute respiratory infections caused by Coronavirus strains (SARS/MERS/COVID-19…) is 28 days.

Secondly, epidemic control measures have been fully implemented in accordance with the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, including sanitation, disinfection, and thorough decontamination in the outbreak area.

Strict compliance with the regulations on declaring the start and end of epidemics in Consolidated Document 15/VBHN-BYT is the prerequisite for the health system to operate effectively, preventing the outbreak of future epidemic waves.

MSc. Le Viet Anh – Deputy Director of the Center for Support & Continuing Education

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