Vietnam Faces High Risk of Zika Virus Cases: Minister

Vietnam runs a high risk of recording a case of Zika virus infection, said Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, minister of health during a recent inspection of virus prevention measures in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), state media reported. According to the minister, although there had not been any Zika patients reported in the country by February 4, southern localities are likely to witness the appearance of the virus as about 700 passengers from South American nations, where the virus is raging, enter Vietnam via HCMC’s Tan Son Nhat international airport every month. Zika virus is mainly transmitted through the Aedes Aegypti mosquito which also carries dengue fever. Moreover, 80% of dengue fever cases occurring in Vietnam are recorded in the south, which has suitable climate conditions for this kind of mosquito to grow. Tu Du hospital in HCMC has recorded many microcephaly cases, but Zika virus disease has few clinical symptoms which are also similar to those of seasonal influenza, Rubella or dengue fever, said Nguyen Ba My Nhi, deputy director of the hospital, adding that it is difficult to diagnose if pregnant women are infected with Zika. The Zika virus, a mosquito-borne viral disease, is a rare tropical disease. The most common symptoms of the virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week. Currently, there is no cure for the virus, which until last year was mainly confined to Africa and Asia. But in 2015 the disease made the leap to the Western Hemisphere, affecting more than a million people in Brazil. It’s since spread to Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, and nine other countries. (vietnamplus.vn Feb 4)