Aedes mosquitoes is the carrier of the Zika virus disease. (Source: nilewhc.com)

Taiwanese man contracts Zika virus after returning from Vietnam

Taiwan has informed Vietnam about a Taiwanese citizen who was diagnosed with Zika infection after returning from Vietnam. Tran Dac Phu, Director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, said o­n September 16 that the department was told that the man, 63, was in Vietnam's southern Tra Vinh province from August 28 to September 4 for his son's wedding. Upon return to Taiwan, he got a fever and headache since September 6 and was hospitalised o­n September 8. Test results showed his urine sample was positive to Zika virus. The preventive medicine department has asked Tra Vinh province's health department to investigate the area where the Taiwanese man stayed to detect any suspected infections. Necessary measures must be taken to eliminate the source of infection and prevent the virus from spreading.

Zika infection case in Japan is not Vietnamese

The Zika infection case discovered in Japan o­n September 12 is not Vietnamese, confirmed the Health Ministry's Department of Preventive Medicine o­n September 15. The victim is a German living in district 2, Ho Chi Minh City, who has fully recovered and returned to Vietnam.

Before that, the woman was bitten by mosquitoes in Vietnam, then experienced a headache and rash o­n the body before arriving in Japan o­n September 8. After experiencing other symptoms such pain in joints and red eyes, the woman sought medical attention at a hospital in Tokyo o­n September 9, two days later she was diagnosed with Zika virus.The woman is the 11th Zika-infected case in Japan since 2013 but she is the first in Tokyo since the Japanese government raised the Zika virus warning to Level IV in February, 2016.

The ministry directed local health agencies, municipal and local authorities to take precautionary measures nationwide and spread the campaign "People get rid of mosquitoes, larvae" in the fight against dengue and Zika. It also requested keeping close watch over passengers travelling from infected areas, taking samples at medical stations to promptly discover infections, regularly updating the public about the epidemics via the mass media, and working closely with the World Health Organisation to acquire relevant information. The department warned that new Zika cases are probably discovered in the foreseeable future. 

The Zika virus is transmitted to humans primarily through Aedes aegypty mosquito bites and sexual intercourse. The symptoms of Zika infection include fever, conjunctivitis, headaches and muscle pains. Zika infection during pregnancy may lead to microcephaly in children, which is responsible for incomplete brain development and an unusually small head. A vaccine for the Zika virus has yet to be discovered.

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