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Nine pregnant women have been infected with Zika in Ho Chi Minh City, where the virus has spread to most districts at a relatively fast pace.
Of the nine cases, one has delivered a healthy child with normal conditions while another has lost her pregnancy. The seven others are being monitored by doctors, said Nguyen Chi Dung, director of the city's Preventive Health Center.
As of November 20, 41 out of the total 62 Zika infections in the city, or 66 percent, were women. The city confirmed 24 new patients between November 17 and 20.
Binh Thanh District topped the list with 13 patients, followed by District 2 with 10.
The city’s health department has established six special task forces charged with detecting new cases, spraying insecticide and calling on local residents to eliminate any standing water in and around their homes to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
Ho Chi Minh City declared a pandemic of the mosquito-borne disease in October.
Vietnam now has a total of 70 Zika cases, reported throughout the central and southern regions.
Zika causes only mild symptoms in most people and may get undetected. Pregnant women with the virus face a high risk of giving birth to babies with microcephaly, a birth defect resulting in an abnormally small head.
The World Health Organization on Friday said that Zika is no longer an international emergency, but added that the virus is here to stay. Its experts have reportedly said that Zika is seasonal and may return to countries with the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which also spread diseases like yellow and dengue fever.
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