Thailand reported Friday the first confirmed cases in Southeast Asia of microcephaly linked to mosquito-borne Zika, as the WHO urged action against the virus across the region. “We have found two cases of small heads linked to Zika,” Prasert Thongcharoen, an adviser to the Department of Disease Control, said in Bangkok, Reuters reported. The WHO said the cases were the first of Zika-linked microcephaly in Southeast Asia.
The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light last year in Brazil, which confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly related to Zika infections in the mothers. Zika has spread extensively in Latin American and the Caribbean, and more recently in Southeast Asia.
Thailand has confirmed 349 Zika cases since January, including 33 pregnant women, and Singapore recorded 393 Zika cases, including 16 pregnant women.
