Vietnam Stays Alert on Zika as Disease Threatens to Spread from Neighbors

Vietnam has put several high-risk locations on high alert following reports of the Zika virus spreading across Singapore and Malaysia, state media reported. The Ministry of Health will use advanced screening technology to diagnose cases of the Zika virus. The Trioplex test, provided by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, started this month, and is able to detect chikungunya, dengue and Zika in a single test. Vietnam’s National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology will also hold training courses for medical workers across the country to show them how to test patients. Authorities in Singapore said they had detected over 200 cases of the Zika virus, including a second pregnant woman. The government said that half of the cases reported previously were foreigners, mainly from China, India and Bangladesh, and most had already recovered. Meanwhile, Malaysia is bracing for more Zika cases after detecting the first locally infected patient, which could further stretch a health system struggling with dengue, another mosquito-borne virus that can be fatal. Zika is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. People affected by Zika can have symptoms such as mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis and muscle and joint pain, besides general malaise or headache. These symptoms normally last for two to seven days. There is scientific consensus that Zika can cause microcephaly and the Guillain-Barré syndrome. Links to other neurological complications are also being investigated, according to the World Health Organization. (nld.com.vn Sep 4, danviet.vn Sep 4)