In an update of the Zika virus situation in Vietnam’s southern city of Ho Chi Minh, health officials report 27 additional confirmed cases in the past week, bringing the total cases to 65.

Aedes albopictus/FotoshopTofs
Aedes albopictus/FotoshopTofs

According to a VN Express report, the virus has now spread to 17 out of the city’s 24 districts, with Binh Thanh ranking first with 13 cases, followed by District 2 with 11.

The city’s health department has established six special task forces charged with detecting new Zika-infected cases, spraying insecticide and calling on residential household to eliminate any standing water in and around their homes to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.

According to the latest Zika virus update of the WHO, 15 countries/areas in the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia have reported mosquito-borne outbreak from 2015 onwards, or had possible endemic transmission or evidence of local mosquito-borne infections in 2016.

To date, 75 countries/areas have reported mosquito-borne transmission since 2007, while 12 have reported person-to-person transmission probably by sexual contact since 2016.

In addition to Zika virus, Ho Chi Minh City is also actively battling another mosquito borne viral disease, dengue fever.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Preventive Health Center, more than 17,000 people have contracted dengue this year, including nearly 700 new cases in the past week.

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