In the face of the rising number of cases, the Health Ministry’s Department of Preventive Medicine held a working session with the municipal Department of Health and the Pasteur Institute on the morning of October 31 to seek measures to curb the spread of the virus.
Tran Dac Phu, head of the preventive medicine department, said a big population, large numbers of visitors, poor environmental sanitation in many areas and low public awareness of disease prevention were all reasons behind the rapid increase in the number of infections.
The city was also at the peak of dengue fever season, which is transmitted by the same type of mosquito as the Zika virus, so the detection of more Zika cases was unavoidable, he added.
Earlier, on October 30, the preventive health department confirmed a Zika-linked microcephaly case in a four-month-old baby in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.
Measures to protect pregnant women were urgent, Phu said, suggesting focusing on consultations and screenings for this group.
The health sector has also advised pregnant women to have regular prenatal check-ups and to avoid mosquito bites.
So far, Vietnam has recorded 23 Zika cases, including 17 in HCMC.
