Aedes aegypti mosquitoes at the Laboratory of
Entomology and Ecology of the Dengue Branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention in San Juan, March 6, 2016.
The
mosquito-borne Zika disease has become endemic in Vietnam after nine victims
tested positive in five of the country’s provinces and cities, according to one
health official.
The
disease is now considered an epidemic in the Southeast Asian country after nine
patients have become infected in five localities, Tran Dac Phu, head of the
General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, told
Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Sunday.
According
to a study by authorities in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa, the Zika
virus is now carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, whose numbers are higher
than those that carry the dengue virus.
The
Ministry of Health is expected to make an announcement on the improved
protection against the virus for local residents, especially pregnant women, on
Monday, Phu said.
“Zika is
not a severe disease but can have serious consequences for female patients
expecting a baby as the virus can cause microcephaly in infants,” the health
official warned.
Zika is
caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, according to the
World Health Organization (WHO).
People
with the Zika virus can experience symptoms including mild fever, skin rashes,
conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or a headache that normally
lasts between two and seven days,
The virus
can be transmitted via two species of mosquitoes, the Aedes aegypti and the
Aedes albopictus, both infamous for spreading dengue, chikungunya, and other
viruses.
The most
recent cases in Vietnam were recorded in Ho Chi Minh City with two female
patients, one living in District 2 and the other in District 12, both testing
positive.
The other
victims were diagnosed earlier this year, namely one woman in the southern
province of Binh Duong on October 8, one in Nha Trang City in early April, and
a male patient in the south-central province of Phu Yen on August 3.
Four
foreigners have also reported their infection during stays in the Southeast
Asian country, including an Australian man in March, a Korean woman in May, a
German woman and a Taiwanese man, both confirmed in September.
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