First case of Zika virus infection detected in Phu Yen

On the afternoon of August 3, the Director of Phu Yen Department of Health confirmed the first case of Zika virus infection in this province.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Mong Ngoc, Director of the Phu Yen Department of Health, said that the province has just discovered a case of Zika virus. The patient is Mr. D.D.T, 27 years old, in Tan Hoi village, Son Hoi commune, Son Hoa district.

According to the report of the provincial Department of Health, on June 27, Mr. D.D.T had a fever, the highest temperature measured was 38.5 degrees Celsius with symptoms of muscle and joint pain. On June 30, the patient had a red rash all over his body, so he went to Son Hoa District General Hospital for treatment.

Here, doctors suspected that this patient had dengue fever, so they took a blood sample and sent it to the provincial Center for Disease Control for testing. The result was negative for dengue fever.

On July 7, Mr. T recovered and was discharged from the hospital. However, the blood sample of patient D.D.T was sent by the health department to the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang for testing and on July 28, the institute concluded that the patient's blood sample was positive for the Zika virus.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed that the Zika virus is the culprit causing thousands of children to suffer from microcephaly (brain atrophy). Photo: Reuters.

Doctor Ngoc said that as soon as he received the conclusion from the Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang, the Department of Health established a monitoring team at Mr. D.D.T's house and surrounding households in Tan Hoi village to isolate and handle the outbreak, in order to minimize the spread to the community.

The monitoring team also directed the Son Hoa District Medical Center, the commune health station, the village health station and the Son Hoi Commune Youth Union to organize general cleaning, destroy mosquito larvae and spray chemicals at 154 households within a 250 meter radius around the patient's house.

The Department of Health also directed the Provincial Center for Preventive Medicine, medical centers of districts, towns, cities and medical facilities with hospital beds to strengthen the prevention and control of diseases caused by the Zika virus.

This is the third case of Zika virus infection in Vietnam this year. Previously, a pregnant woman in Ho Chi Minh City and an elderly woman in Khanh Hoa were found to be infected with Zika virus. The pregnant woman later ended her pregnancy early.

Zika virus is considered dangerous for pregnant women because it can cause microcephaly in babies.

According to Zing