THE Department of Health recorded one new Zika case as of Dec. 30, bringing to 53 the total number of Zika cases reported in 2016.
Health Secretary Dr. Paulyn Ubial said Tuesday 65 percent of the cases involved females, three of whom were pregnant, and the patients’ ages ranged from 7 years to 59 years. All of them have recovered from the disease.
Ubial said the department has been monitoring the pregnant patients and their babies and will continue to do so until two years after childbirth, as part of a study to find out if abnormalities linked to the Zika virus could appear after the baby is born.
She noted that ultrasound tests conducted on the pregnant women indicate that their babies are normal.
“There are no signs of microcephaly and mental disorder or neurological findings on the three fetuses,” she said.
“We’re still awaiting the other three pregnant women but there are no signs of microcephaly or any mental disorder, neurological findings among the three fetuses,” she added.
Microcephaly, a condition where a baby’s head is much smaller than expected because a baby’s brain has not developed properly during pregnancy or has stopped growing after birth, has been linked to the Zika virus.
Last month, a 16-year-old woman from Las Piñas City who caught the virus when she was pregnant, gave birth to a baby boy who did not show any microcephaly or congenital effect. Mother and baby will be monitored in the next two years.
Although the World Health Organization announced last November that the Zika virus outbreak and related clusters of microcephaly are no longer a public health emergency of international concern, Vietnam’s Ministry of Health remained concerned it may reach pandemic levels this year.
Tran Dac Phu, head of Vietnam’s Ministry of Health’s General Department of Preventive Medicine, said infections have recently been on the rise in southern Ho Chi Minh City with over 200 cases and health officials are expecting more infections this year.
However, Phu urged local people not to panic as most of the Zika infections in Vietnam have been in mild condition, and caused no casualties.
Although no travel limits were issued among localities, those who have arrived from Zika-hit areas should monitor their health in 14 days’ time, Phu warned.