Yangon women 'should
avoid pregnancy' in next six months due to Zika
Send a link to a friend
[October 28, 2016]
By Shwe Yee Saw Myint and Aung Hla Tun
NAYPYITAW/YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar said
on Friday it will advise women in Yangon to avoid getting pregnant in
the next six months to protect them from the Zika virus after the first
case was confirmed in Myanmar's largest city.
|
Zika infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause
microcephaly - a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are
undersized - as well as other brain abnormalities. The connection
between Zika and microcephaly first came to light in Brazil, which
has confirmed more than 1,900 cases of microcephaly.
"The Ministry of Health will issue a statement soon advising married
women in Yangon to avoid having pregnancies in six months," ministry
director general Soe Lwin Nyein told reporters in the capital of
Naypyitaw.
A pregnant foreign woman was diagnosed with the mosquito-borne virus
on Thursday, state media said.
Authorities said they would not allow the woman to leave her home in
the next two weeks to prevent Zika from spreading.
"We're also helping her by giving her psychiatric treatment because
she's worried about her pregnancy," Soe Lwin Nyein said, refusing to
give any details about the woman.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/Symphony_122313.png)
The authorities would also take preventive measures in Yangon and
Mandalay, the country's two largest cities. Yangon, the commercial
hub of seven million, would be the priority because of a downtown
mosquito infestation.
(Editing by Nick Macfie)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |