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| Vietnam may see more Zika cases because community immunity to the mosquito-borne Zika virus is still low, particularly in central, southern and Central Highland provinces (Photo: nld.vn) |
HCM City: Immunity to Zika still low, nine pregnant women contract Zika virus
Vietnam may see more Zika cases because community immunity to the mosquito-borne Zika virus is still low, particularly in central, southern and Central Highland provinces. Nine out of 83 people infected with the Zika virus in Ho Chi Minh City are pregnant, according to the municipal Preventive Medical Centre. The nine patients are under treatment at specialised hospitals in the city, the centre said. Deputy Director of the health ministry?s Diseases Control Division Nguyen Duc Khoa made the warning at a talk held on the Government?s e-portal chinhphu.vn on November 24. He said that as of November 21, Zika had been found in seven provinces and cities, namely Binh Duong, Long An, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Phu Yen, Dak Lak, Khanh Hoa and HCM City. So far, Zika was found mostly in localities with temperatures of 20-30 degrees Celsius, which aids the development of the mosquitoes which carry the virus causing Zika. Pregnant women living in or travelling to areas with Zika should go to hospital for Zika tests, Cuong said, adding that doctors could detect microcephaly from the 18th week of pregnancy. Women who were suspected to have Zika during their first three months of pregnancy could receive free Zika tests at healthcare centres, he said. Earlier this month, the World Health Organisation declared that the mosquito-borne Zika virus will no longer be treated as an international medical emergency. However, by lifting its nine-month-old declaration, the UN?s health agency is acknowledging that Zika is here to stay. The move is not a demotion of the disease, Pete Salama, executive director of WHO?s health emergencies programme, told a press conference. ?We are not downgrading the importance of Zika. By placing it as a longer-term programme of work, we are saying Zika is here to stay and the WHO?s response is here to stay.? As of November 28, the virus has circulated across 17 out of 24 districts in HCM City. Binh Thanh district has recorded the largest number of Zika infections with 17, followed by District 2, 14 cases; Tan Phu district and District 12, both nine cases; and District 9, six cases.  | Vietnam may see more Zika cases because community immunity to the mosquito-borne Zika virus is still low,
particularly in central, southern and Central Highland provinces (Photo: nld.vn) |
Dr Tran Danh Cuong, deputy director of the Central Obstetrics Hospital, said that Zika is dangerous for pregnant women and about 3-12 percent of babies with Zika-infected mothers suffered from microcephaly, in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and restricted brain development. He said that there is no medicine to treat the disease and no vaccine to prevent it. Against the backdrop, the city has built a procedure for admission and treatment of Zika patients, particularly pregnant women who have been advised about possible consequences caused by Zika virus during the their pregnancy as well as countermeasures. The centre said it will spray chemicals to kill mosquitoes in the above-mentioned localities from now through the end of December this year. The local health sector has also called on the community to take the initiative in fighting the virus by cooperating with health workers in cleaning the environment. Zika is mainly transmitted through the Aedes Aegypti mosquito, which also carries dengue fever. The virus causes only mild symptoms in most, including fever, sore eyes and a rash. But pregnant women infected with the virus risk giving birth to babies with microcephaly.
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