HCMC Expands Zika Virus Monitoring Network

Ho Chi Minh City’s Health Department has recently launched 15 more spots for screening and detecting Zika virus infections in the context of increasing number of infections in the city, state media reported. As a result, the city now has 45 screening facilities, comprising 30 public hospitals and 15 private clinics. Previously, nearly 800 samples were taken at 30 stations for testing, four of which tested positive for Zika virus. The municipal Health Department will equip the city’s Preventative Health Centre with more devices for testing, towards strengthening monitoring and supervision of Zika virus-related diseases. It will also intensify communication campaigns to call on locals to be active in killing mosquitoes around their living areas. The Ministry of Health (MoH) has increased the Zika virus warning to level 3 - the dangerous level. 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. (baotintuc.vn Oct 21, vtv.vn Oct 22)