2 more Zika cases reported in northern Thailand

Thailand recorded two more cases of Zika Virus infection in northern Chiang Mai province after the other seven infected fully recovered, local media reported on Friday.

Chiang Mai Governor Pawin Chamniprasart confirmed that two women from San Sai district in the province, aged 18 and 74 respectively, were diagnosed with the infection after they fell sick.

Previous outbreak of Zika virus was also found in the same district.

The number of detected Zika infections in Thailand has jumped significantly this year compared to recent years.

Between 2012 and 2015, an average of five people were infected with the Zika virus each year.

The Thai Disease Control Department said that a total of 97 people had been infected with Zika in 10 provinces across the country in the first six months of 2016.

Zika usually causes a mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise, or a headache, but it can be fatal in severe cases.

Local media said a nine-year-old girl died of it recently in the north part of Thailand, raising the death toll to three.

Increasing outbreaks of the mosquito-borne Zika virus have prompted a plethora of travel advisories for visits across Asia, the Caribbean, North, Central and South America, and the Pacific Islands.

Source : XINHUA