Vietnam HCMC to Provide Free Zika Tests at Public Hospitals

Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City will provide free Zika tests at 30 public hospitals until the end of the year to keep control of the mosquito-transmitted infection in the region, state media reported. The city’s Preventive Health Department said people who develop rashes plus high fever, joint and muscle pains and sore eyes should have blood tests. Five people have reportedly been infected with the Zika virus in Vietnam in the past five months, including two in Ho Chi Minh City. According to the World Health Organization, as of September 19, seven out of 10 countries in the Southeast Asia recorded Zika infections, except for Laos, Brunei and Myanmar. Recently, 200 cases have been reported in the city state of Singapore in just a week. (vnexpress.net Sep 27, baoxaydung.com.vn Sep 27)