Vietnam discovered the first 2 cases of Zika virus

On April 5, the Ministry of Health announced the first two cases of Zika virus infection in Khanh Hoa and Ho Chi Minh City.

The first female patient, 64 years old, resided in Phuoc Hoa, Nha Trang. The patient developed a fever on March 26 with mild fever, headache, rash on both legs and red-eye. After two days of taking antipyretics at home but not helping, the patient examined at Khanh Hoa Tropical Hospital.

On March 31, the patient's test results at Nha Trang Pasteur Institute confirmed positive for Zika virus. After that, the specimen was transferred to the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology for re-testing. On April 4, there was a positive result.

The second case is a 33-year-old woman in District 2, HCMC. The patient developed the disease on March 29 with similar symptoms including typhus, conjunctivitis, fatigue and examination at District 2 General Hospital right on the day. The patient's test results repeatedly answered positive for Zika twice. After that, the specimen was also transferred to the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to re-test, confirmed positive on 4/4.

Deputy Minister Long said that in the future, there will be more cases.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that female patients in Khanh Hoa did not have a history of going to epidemic areas. The provincial People's Committee has implemented measures to localize the epidemic in this patient's area. The second patient in Ho Chi Minh City was 8 weeks pregnant, with her husband working in Maylaysia about 14 days earlier. This patient's husband does not have any symptoms; 2-year-old daughter a week ago had a fever, test results showed that she had dengue fever. The Ministry of Health is expanding surveillance to investigate contacts, people around. Currently, the health of two patients is stable.

Deputy Minister Long said that in the future, there will be more cases.The possibility of spreading Zika disease in Khanh Hoa and Ho Chi Minh City is huge. The strain of Zika virus of these two patients is similar to those of ASEAN and China. On the morning of April 5, Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien arrived in Ho Chi Minh City to direct the implementation of preventive measures. At noon, Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Long will also come to Khanh Hoa.

Dr. Tran Dac Phu, Director of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, said that by the end of 2015, there has been a complicated development of Zika disease in 60 countries worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) evaluates the rate of spread quite quickly worldwide. There are 61 countries announcing the epidemic since 2007. WHO has not recommended any measures to limit travel between countries, but the speed of disease spread among countries is dizzying. In Vietnam, the Ministry of Health tested 1,215 samples with similar symptoms in 32 provinces. Two patients confirmed to be infected are new cases, starting from the end of March.

The Ministry of Health classifies Zika disease into Group B and has asked provinces to implement the epidemic announcement according to new decisions. Accordingly, if there is a translation, the provincial People's Committee will publish according to the scale of commune and ward; When there are 2 communes recorded in a district, they are announced at the district level. When there is a province with 2 districts that appear sick cases, they will be announced at the provincial level.

Symptoms of people infected with Zika virus.(Photo: Hai Minh).

Dr. Phu recommends that people should not be confused or worried . The disease is mild, moderate, mainly typhus, 80% of cases do not show. Zika disease is not as severe as dengue fever. In many cases, there are no symptoms, self-exclusion, so it does not affect health. However, there is a potential association between viral infection in pregnant women and small head syndrome in newborns, so it is necessary to monitor the health of pregnant women, women who are about to become pregnant.

The Ministry of Health has also raised the level of warning and implemented anti-epidemic measures, stepped up surveillance to detect early cases of infection. The Ministry also asked the provinces to pay special attention to the problem of killing larvae, mosquito bites, spraying chemicals to kill mosquitoes to avoid spreading to the community. This is the most effective measure today to prevent disease caused by Zika virus. The Department of Maternal and Child Health Protection, Central Obstetrics Hospital provides guidance on counseling and care for pregnant women.