HÀ NỘI — Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes, which transmit the Zika virus, were found at Đà Nẵng International Airport, Phạm Trúc Lâm, director of Đà Nẵng international quarantine service, said.

At a meeting with the relevant agencies yesterday in the central city, Lâm said that after identifying the mosquitoes, chemicals had been sprayed in the international terminal to kill them.

He said chemical spraying must be conducted when there are lots of mosquitoes present and when large groups of tourists arrive at the airport.

He said it was impossible to spray the chemicals while the terminal was crowded, noting, “We have to accept spraying the chemicals at night even though the mosquitoes are not active at that time.”

Đà Nẵng was at high risk for cases of Zika infections as thousands of passengers arrive at the airport every day, he said, adding that a 10-member disease prevention committee had been set up to deal with the virus.

He said several steps had been taken as precautions, such as monitoring the body temperature of foreign tourists arriving from other provinces before they check in at Đà Nẵng airport.

The airport had prepared medical personnel and medicine to cope with possible cases of infection.

He asked the health sector to cooperate with the media to raise public awareness of disease prevention and to avoid widespread panic.

The gathering also suggested several plans to manage the diagnosis of an infection, including sending suspected victims to the airport’s quarantine room and then to an isolated area of the city.

The Zika virus is an emerging mosquito-borne virus that can cause microcephaly in newborn babies. The virus was recorded in 61 countries and territories across the world. Việt Nam announced its first two cases in HCM City and central Khánh Hoa’s Nha Trang City at the beginning of this week. — VNS