A worker fumigate in Ward 25 of Binh Thanh district in HCM City (Photo: VNA)

Another 11 Zika cases have been detected in Ho Chi Minh City, increasing the total number of cases in the city to 57, the southern city's preventive medicine centre said o­n November 20.

Two of the new cases are in Go Vap and Phu Nhuan districts, which hadn't recorded any previous cases.

So far, Zika has spread to 15 out of 24 districts of the city.

Binh Thanh district continues to be a hotbed with 11 cases. It is followed by District 2 with 10 cases, and District 9, 12 and Tan Phu with six cases apiece.

Doctor Nguyen Huy Hung, Vice Director of the department, said that the real number of Zika infections is higher than the reported 46 cases, as o­nly 20 percent of patients contracting Zika virus show clear symptoms of fever, rash, muscle pain, and acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis.

NguyenTri Dung, Director of the preventive medicine centre, said his centre hasn't issued a travel warning to Zika-infected areas. However, people, especially pregnant women, should avoid mosquito bites and kill mosquitoes and larvae to prevent dengue fever and Zika.

Regardinga Zika-infected woman who gave birth recently, the centre said her baby is healthy, without microcephaly, and did not contract the virus.

As she was infected with Zika in the 30th week of pregnancy, the possibility of mother-to-baby transmission was low, the centre said, urging pregnant women, especially within the first three months of pregnancy, to take the recommended preventive measures.

Recently, the city's health sector and authorised agencies have rolled out a number of preventive and control measures against Zika, including calling o­n locals to kill mosquitoes and mosquito larvae. However, the solutions have shown poor efficiency.

Deputy Chairwoman of the municipal People?s Committee Nguyen Thi Thu attributed the shortcomings to ineffective communications.

She urged for localities to work harder in the work, with strict punishments o­n irresponsible individuals and collectives who fail to prevent outbreak in locality under their management.

Sixty-five Zika cases were recorded in Vietnam as of November 19.

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