Hanoi: The first case of microcephaly linked to mosquito-borne virus Zika has been reported in Vietnam. The victim is a 4-month-old girl born in central Vietnam. She has an abnormally small head and was born to a mother confirmed to have had the virus when she was pregnant.
The Ministry of Health’s General Department of Preventive Medicine said on its website yesterday that the case had a “high probability of being linked to Zika virus and also the first in Vietnam.”
If the reports are confirmed, it would make Vietnam the second Southeast Asian country after Thailand to have a microcephaly case linked to Zika.
The virus generally causes a mild flu-like illness, but a major outbreak in Brazil last year revealed that it can result in severe birth defects when pregnant women are infected. The statement warned women who are pregnant or planning pregnancies to use precautions such as mosquito nets and mosquito cream and to seek timely medical treatment if they develop a fever or rash.
PTI