Myanmar confirms first case of Zika virus infection

Record ID: 83653

  • Title: Myanmar confirms first case of Zika virus infection
  • Date: 28th October 2016
  • Summary: NAYPYITAW, MYANMAR (OCTOBER 28, 2016) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF MYANMAR'S DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, SOE LWIN NYEIN, STANDING AT PODIUM AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Thai) DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF MYANMAR'S DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH, SOE LWIN NYEIN, SAYING: "We have found the Zika virus in a women after checking her and her husband in the laboratory in Yangon after the couple informed us." JOURNALISTS SITTING AND LISTENING MEDIA FILMING PEOPLE STANDING AND TAKING PICTURES NEAR SIGN READING (English and Burmese): "MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND SPORTS" EXTERIOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH MINISTRY
  • Embargoed: 12th November 2016 09:41
  • Keywords: Myanmar Zika health infection virus Yangon pregnant mosquito Asia
  • Location: NAYPYITAW, MYANMAR
  • City: NAYPYITAW, MYANMAR
  • Country: Myanmar
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA00155X4O5H
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: VIDEO QUALITY AS INCOMING
    A pregnant foreign woman in Myanmar's largest city Yangon has been diagnosed with Zika, the first case of the mosquito-borne virus in the southeast Asian country, a health official said on Friday (October 28).
    Zika has spread to some 60 countries and territories since the current outbreak was identified last year in Brazil, raising alarm over the rare birth defect microcephaly as well as other neurological disorders it can cause in infants and adults.
    Soe Lwin Nyein, the Director-General of the Public Health Department, said on Friday during a news conference in Naypyitaw that couples in Yangon were advised not to get pregnant for the next six months.
    Information Ministry spokesman Myint Kyaw told Reuters it was the first Zika case confirmed in Myanmar. Two Myanmar citizens, one living in Singapore and one in Thailand, were identified as infected with the virus in September.
    There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika infection. Companies and scientists are racing to develop a safe and effective vaccine for the virus, but a preventative shot is not expected to be ready for widespread use for at least two or three years.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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