Vietnam confirms first Zika-tied birth defect case
The Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health on October 30 confirmed Vietnam’s first microcephaly case likely related to the Zika virus.
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The first suspected case of the Zika-linked brain defect syndrome microcephaly was reported on October 14 in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak. It affected a four-month-old baby whose mother was affected by the virus when she was pregnant.
The local hospital took samples from the baby girl and her mother and sent them to Japan’s Nagasaki University for further tests.
The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology found after at least five rounds of tests that the 23-year-old mother experienced Zika-like symptoms such as rash and high fever during the first and second trimesters of her pregnancy.
The Preventive Medicine Department has warned pregnant women to cancel non-essential travel to areas where the Zika virus is prevalent.
The disease is spread primarily by mosquitoes and the Health Ministry is urging people, particularly pregnant women, to take measures to prevent mosquito bites.
A total of 11 Zika virus cases has been confirmed in the country so far, including that four-month-old baby in Dak Lak, according to the Health Ministry.
