Pneumonia in Republic of Vietnam
From: BoiTran Huynh
Date: Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 11:32 PM
Hello,
Happy New Year to you all.
Does anybody can tell about pneumonia in South Vietnam in early 1960s? I interviewed a person who insisted that "only a French doctor can cure you at that time from pneumonia, otherwise you are dead."
Please help.
Many thanks,
Boitran Huynh-Beattie
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From: Dieu-Hien t. Hoang
Date: Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 11:54 PM
Hi Boi Tran,
I wonder if that person meant "pneumonia" or "tuberculosis"? TB is still a problem in Viet Nam, but in the 1960s, it was deadly. Pneumonia was, and is, feared, as it is here in the US, but I was not aware that it was thought of as deadly.
Regards,
Hien
----
Hoang t. Dieu-Hien
University of Washington Tacoma
Nursing Program
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From: Rob Hurle
Date: Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 1:51 AM
Hi Boi Tran,
I wonder about the translation of "pneumonia". Pneumonia is a symptom, not a disease. It can be caused by TB, cancer, heart problems, bacterial or viral or fungal infections of the lungs, etc, etc. I think some more information is needed but I'd back a TB hypothesis.
Cheers,
Rob Hurle
--
-----------------------------
Rob Hurle
ANU, College of Asia and the Pacific
School of Culture, History and Language
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From: David Marr
Date: Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 2:36 PM
I suspect the interviewee was recalling the benefits of sulfa drugs and then penicillin as introduced in the late 1940s and 1950s. French doctors in Saigon would have enjoyed ready access to imports and the specialized literature.
David Marr
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From: BoiTran Huynh
Date: Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 4:17 PM
Dear Hien,
I was told that person had "lao phổi", she even coughed with blood, maybe TB. She was cured by a French doctor and that costed her a lot of money in the early 1960s, or even in 1960.
Thanks,
Boitran
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From: Tobias RETTIG
Date: Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 5:35 PM
Hi Boi Tran,
To add on, Ngo Van's autobiography (Au Pays de la Cloche felee, Paris,
L'Insomniaque, 2000, pp. 155-7) contains some information on dealing
with TB in early 1941, when the author is based in Travinh but then
leaves after coughing up blood to spend one month in the Giadinh
hospital. [Sorry for less than perfect translation that follows the
French language too closely.]
He then goes to Dr Pham ngoc Tach who discovers spots on his lungs by
means of radiography (right term?) and then prescribes calcium shots
[although the doctor did not charge anything, it's not clear whether the
shots were administered, because the next section mentions that Ngo Van
is short of money and desperately needs to find a job) prescribed
treatment was followed] and plenty of rest.
Ngo Van then makes contat with an old itinerant (ambulant in French) and
opium-addicuted [male] nurse, who recommends 'crisalbine', a 'golden
salt' used at the time to treat TB, which the authors gets on the black
market. The old nurse gives him intravenous shots and refuses to be paid
for it.
This allows the author to last a few months until he feels invaded by
exhaustion - luckily, he is given a physically less demanding position
(accounts - comptabilite) by the Japanese company he works for at that
time (he had to deal with buffalo skins destined for the Japanese market
and preserved with arsenic). This allows his pulmonary condition to
stabilise even though his body is exhausted.
So, at least in 1941, it's first public health (hospital), then private
doctor consultation, then black market.
Best,
Tobias
School of Social Sciences
Singapore Management University
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From: Dieu-Hien t. Hoang
Date: Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 6:51 PM
Yes, "lao pho^?i" is definitely TB.
In the South,especially in the pre-1975 era, pneumonia would be called "su+ng pho^?i" (literally "swollen lungs"). The new terms for pneumonia are "vie^m pho^?i" (inflammation of the lungs). Both vie^m pho^?i and su+ng pho^?i describe the inflammation condition of the lungs, although vie^m (inflammation) is used only in the medical field whereas su+ng (swollen) is a common lay term.
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From: Kim-Son H. Nguyen
Date: Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 6:59 PM
Technically "lao phoi" is "pulmonary tuberculosis," not "tuberculosis." TB can affect other organs, and those conditions are not called "lao phoi."
Kim-Son
Kim-Son H. Nguyen, MD, MPA
Department of Medicine
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Harvard Medical School
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From: Dieu-Hien t. Hoang
Date: Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 7:16 PM
Thank you for the clarification. Yes, "lao pho^i?" is specifically pulmonary tuberculosis.
Most lay persons would use "lao pho^i?", "ho lao", and "lao" interchangeably to mean TB of the lungs. On rare occasions, someone might refer to "lao" of a specific site when the affected site is not the lung. When a lay person uses "lao" alone, it is most likely pulmonary TB.
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From: BoiTran Huynh
Date: Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 2:19 PM
Dear David,
I wonder if French doctors still worked in Saigon in the 1960s, and if they had private business or mainly worked in Grall Hospital.
Many thanks.
Boitran
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From: BoiTran Huynh
Date: Thu, Jan 7, 2010 at 2:29 PM
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Dear Hien and Kim Son and everyone,
With your medical knowledge, and understanding of history of South Vietnam in the 1960s, can you judge the claim "Had I not been treated by that French doctor, I could have died in 1960" a genuine expression? I wonder if the interviewee exagerated her admiration towards French doctors.
Many thanks for your time.
Best,
Boitran
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From: william turley
Date: Fri, Jan 8, 2010 at 12:50 AM
François Doladille practiced in Saigon at least until 1972, perhaps beyond. He lived and had his cabinet at the corner of Le Van Duyet and Truong Minh Ky. His wife was Vietnamese.
Bill Turley
William S. Turley
Coste Longue
Chemin Notre Dame
Lançon-de-Provence, France 13680
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From: John Kleinen
Date: Fri, Jan 8, 2010 at 11:03 AM
Late sixties. Dutch bilateral aid consisted of the construction and outfitting of three neighbourhood centres and the modernisation of a medical clinic (Trung Tam Giao duc Y khoa) for the fight of tuberculosis in Vietnam. In September 1968 the Netherlands had budgeted 3,8 million guilders for this project, while an amount of 4,5 million was to go to international organisations. Almost 3 million Dutch guilders of this had been spent. See my Lion and Dragon. Four Centuries of Dutch-Vietnamese Relations. Amsterdam, 2008, pp. 136-139. I even have eye witness reports about the building of these clinics in the RVN.
--
Dr. John Kleinen
Associate Professor of Anthropology
Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences
University of Amsterdam