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Vietnam's HCM City announces Zika outbreak

Xinhua, October 18, 2016 Adjust font size:

Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday announced an outbreak of Zika at ward level, after detecting two new cases of infections.

The outbreak was declared in An Phu Ward, District 2 and Hiep Thanh Ward, District 12. Late last week, a 22-year-old woman from District 2 and a 43-year-old woman from District 12 were confirmed Zika patients.

To date, Vietnam has spotted seven Zika patients, including four in Ho Chi Minh City, and one in southern Binh Duong province, central Khanh Hoa province and central Phu Yen province each.

On Oct. 14, a four-month-old baby in the central highlands province of Dak Lak was diagnosed as having microcephaly, a birth defect with smaller head than expected compared with babies of the same sex and age.

Initial tests have shown that the baby's mother used to be infected with Zika virus. Results of final tests conducted abroad are pending.

Zika is spread mostly by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. Zika can be passed from a pregnant woman to her fetus, and infection during pregnancy can cause certain birth defects. Endit