On Tuesday, the Vietnamese Department of Preventive Medicine issued a public health warning for potential disease outbreaks due to prolonged flooding in central provinces.

Image/United States Army Center of Military History
Image/United States Army Center of Military History

The health ministry has requested that officials in the affected regions carry out surveillance of diseases in the flood hit areas. Infectious diseases of concern include diarrhea, pink eye, respiratory problem, skin diseases, influenza, cholera, dysentery and typhoid.

Health officials remind the public in affected regions to eat boiled food and water, and wash hands regularly with soap and use provided chemicals to disinfect water for cooking.

In Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), health officials are now reporting 141 Zika virus cases in 23 of the districts. Bình Thạnh District continues to be the hardest hit district with more than two dozen cases,

The HCMC  Department of Preventive Medicine says they are seeing about 10 cases of the mosquito borne viral disease per week. Of the 141 total cases, 18 were reported in pregnant women.

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