Just days after Vietnam health officials raised the epidemic alert level after reported a potential Zika-related microcephaly case in a four-month old child Krong Buk district, Dak Lak province, the health ministry has reported the fifth Zika virus case in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), and the 9th case overall.
In a emergency meeting yesterday, Pasteur Institute director, Phan Trong Lan said the increase in the incidence of dengue fever and the risk of Zika outbreaks are real as several districts have high density of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the vector to both viruses coinciding with heavy rainfall.
In addition, HCMC has reported over 14,000 dengue cases this year, up 19 percent from a year ago, municipal health officials note.
In addition to HCMC, Zika cases have been reported in Binh Duong, Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen Provinces.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) Zika Situation Report Oct. 13, 73 countries and territories have reported evidence of mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission since 2007 (67 with reports from 2015 onwards).
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