Over 100 Vietnamese workers infected in H1N1 flu virus outbreak

A total of 117 workers at a garment factory in the southern province of Kien Giang have been confirmed to have contracted the influenza virus H1N1, after months of no reported cases.

The workers started having high fever, coughing, runny nose and sore throat on Tuesday. They were later tested positive to H1N1, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute.

The factory, which employs nearly 1,000 workers, has been asked to take preventive measures including disinfecting its facilities and requiring workers to wear facial masks.

The infected workers will have to be quarantined for between seven to 10 days.

The H1N1 virus broke out worldwide in 2009 and has caused about 17,000 deaths since.

Some strains of the virus are endemic in humans and cause a small fraction of all seasonal flu while others are endemic in pigs and birds, better known as swine flu and avian flu respectively.

Vietnam has recorded more than 11,000 human infections, including first deaths in April 2013. The last known case was in April this year and the patient, from Ho Chi Minh City, has fully recovered.