First Zika virus case reported in Long An province

Long An health department's authorities at the press meeting (Photo: baolongan.vn)

Hanoi (VNA) –  The first Zika virus infection in the southern province of Long An was announced by the provincial Health Department at a press conference on October 24, raising the total number of infections in the country to 11. 

The patient is a 4-year-old girl living in Ben Luc town. 

The provincial preventive medicine centre and Ho Chi Minh City’s Pasteur Institute have coordinated to investigate the case and conduct the Ministry of Health (MoH)’s guidance on disease prevention. 

A total of 11 Zika virus cases has been confirmed in the country so far, including a four-month-old baby born with suspected Zika-caused microcephaly in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak, according to the MoH. 

Both baby and mother were found to have antibodies of Zika virus, proving they were infected by the virus. 

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and Japan’s Nagasaki university have teamed up to study the causes of the baby’s microcephaly.-VNA