The Ministry of Health has said the Zika virus might hit Vietnam as Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which transmit dengue fever, abound here in the nation.

A sterile female Aedes aegypti mosquito is seen on the forearm of a health technician in a research area to prevent the spread of Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases, at the entomology department of the Ministry of Public Health in Guatemala City, January 28, 2016 - PHOTO: REUTERS

The warming comes after the head of the World Health Organization said last Thursday that the mosquito-borne virus is “is now spreading explosively” in the Americas, with 3 million to 4 million infections estimated in the American region over a 12-month period.

The ministry said Vietnam’s strong trade, tourism and labor exchanges with other nations could lead to a Zika outbreak in the Southeast Asian country.  

Though no Zika infections have been detected in Vietnam, the ministry has written to the Pasteur institutes and institutes of hygiene and epidemiology across the nation instructing them to stay on alert for Zika.

They were told to monitor those patients suspected of contracting the disease, especially those returning home from Zika-hit countries. The ministry said Zika and dengue fever should be monitored at the same time. 

People are advised to closely monitor their health in the first 14 days after going home from affected nations, and if they develop any symptoms of fever, they should come to medical centers and hospitals for examination.

Residents are urged to keep a watchful eye on sources of still and stagnant water where mosquitoes can replicate.   

The Zika virus is a flavivirus, a family of virus causing dengue fever, and was first detected in 1947 in Uganda. The virus is less dangerous to adults but is linked to a fetal deformation known as microcephaly. 

Zika has been linked to a “steep increase in the birth of babies with abnormally small heads. Having small heads can cause brain damage in newborns.

Symptoms of the disease are fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis (red eyes), muscle pain and headache. There is neither treatment of nor vaccine against Zika.

According to the Ministry of Health, the number of Zika infections has doubled since December last year in the world, with 21 countries and territories hit.  

Apart from Latin America and the Caribbean, the virus has spread to Europe, with the second patient in Germany returning home from Haiti.

Anyone without previous exposure to the virus may become infected due to a lack of immunity among the population. Aedes mosquitos have transmitted the virus throughout the Americas, except for Canada and Chile.

The WHO said the virus will continue spreading across countries and territories in the Americas where Aedes aegypti mosquitoes live.