Mosquitoes transmitting Zika and dengue are present in Ho Chi Minh City, posing high risk of potential epidemic to local residents, the municipal administration has warned.

A total of 30 Zika cases have been reported in the southern metropolis, including three cases of pregnant women infect with the virus, according to the local administration.

Ho Chi Minh City ranks first in Vietnam in terms of patients diagnosed with the virus, though all of the infected patients had no direct visits to diseased areas.

The Preventive Medicine Centre of Ho Chi Minh City has been tasked with the eradication of Aedes aegypti, the species of mosquito that carries the Zika and dengue viruses, across the southern hub.

The agency will also coordinate with the city’s two Children Hospitals and maternity hospitals, including Tu Du and Hung Vuong, to monitor pregnant women who have been infected with Zika.

Managers of infirmaries across the city have also been asked to raise awareness of the situation for their patients, especially soon-to-be mothers, and carry out tests on patients experiencing headaches, muscle pain, and conjunctivitis.

Zika is virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Symptoms of the virus include mild fever, skin rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise, and headaches that normally last for two to seven days.

The Zika virus can also cause microcephaly in infants, a birth defect characterized by unusually small heads that can result in developmental problems, which is likely to affect the babies of mothers that are infected during their first three months of pregnancy.

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