Expert: Zika virus disease still sees complicated developments

Health staff sprays mosquito killer chemical in Distrct 3, Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) – Although the number of
infection cases have dropped, the disease could break out on a large scale if
no preventive plan was implemented since the beginning of the year, said a
health expert.

Associate Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan, Director of the Pasteur Institute in
Ho Chi Minh City, gave the warning at a conference held in the city on February
16 to launch this year’s tasks in the southern region.

Lan said Zika virus spreads rapidly via Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and is difficult
to detect due to mild symptoms. Meanwhile the southern region sees strong human
flows in both arrivals and departures.

In 2016, Vietnam detected 227 Zika virus infection cases, of which 207
are residents of Ho Chi Minh City.

Therefore, the expert warned that the number of Zika-infected cases
across the region would increase, and recommended each province set up at least
two Zika monitoring centres.

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long requested southern provinces
and cities to keep a close watch on Zika-related disease and and take
preventative measures from now on to prevent outbreaks.

He also asked the localities to be vigilant on diseases that are likely
to enter Vietnam, such as H7N9, Mers-CoV and Ebola.

Noninfectious diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers and
diabetes, are also big threats, Long said, adding that they are responsible for
60 percent of the disease-related death toll nationwide.-VNA