A ceremony recently took place in Da Nang to launch a campaign encouraging local residents to kill mosquitoes and mosquito larvae.

The event was jointly organised by the municipal Department of Health and the Central Department of Preventive Medicine under the Vietnamese Ministry of Health.  The aim is to prevent any outbreaks in the city of diseases related to the Zika virus.

The Zika virus, first detected in Uganda’s Zika forest in 1947, is transmitted to humans through bites from Aedes mosquitoes.  It causes a mild fever, a rash, muscular pain, joint pain, headache, pain behind the eyes, and conjunctivitis, and is suspected of being linked to birth defects in newborns.  Currently, there is no cure for the Zika virus, and no vaccine against it.

The launch ceremony

To date, no cases of Zika infection have been reported in Viet Nam.  However, Da Nang has seen an increase in the number of Aedes mosquitoes.  The city has many international border gates, a hot and humid climate, and a rapid pace of urbanisation, which together can create a favourable environment for the Aedes mosquito.

This type of mosquito can also spread dengue fever to humans through their bites.  According to the latest statistics released by the city’s Preventive Medicine Centre, a total of 1,243 cases of dengue fever were recorded in the city in the first 2 months of this year, an increase of 1,194 against the same period last year.

A local resident emptying a container of standing water

Local relevant agencies are taking various measures to try to reduce the occurence of dengue fever and prevent Zika infection in the city.  Recently, preventive medicine staff made an inspection of residential group 29C in Lien Chieu District’s Hoa Khanh Bac Ward.  They encouraged the residents to remove sources of standing water which can become breeding grounds for the mosquitoes, and they sprayed anti-mosquito chemicals in the area.