Two women in Vietnam have been infected with the Zika virus
According
to report, a 64-year-old woman from the popular beach resort of Nha Trang became
the country's first casuality of the case after being admitted to hospital complaining
of fever, headache and a rash on her legs, while a 33-year-old woman with eight
weeks pregnancy became the second victim of the virus.
An online newspaper, Vnexpress reported that 1,215 samples have
been sent for testing for suspected Zika in 32 provinces throughout the country.
It is not clear if either of the women have recently
travelled abroad, or whether they were infected with Zika in Vietnam.
However,
health officials have quarantined the living areas of the patient's families
and taken samples from others living nearby for further tests.
There
have been a smaller number of cases in countries closer to Vietnam such as
Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Korea.
The
Zika virus, which is carried by mosquitoes and transmitted to humans, is
thought to cause microcephaly.
Characterised by unusually small heads, microcephaly can
result in developmental problems in babies.
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