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Travel warnings as Zika cases in Singapore cross 100 mark

THE NATION, AGENCIES
ASIA NEWS NETWORK

 

BANGKOK: -- THE REGION has gone on high alert after the number of Zika cases in Singapore went beyond 100, Malaysia confirmed its first case and Thailand found 13 patients in a week, bringing the total up to 100 since January.

 

China said yesterday that Singapore's health ministry had informed its embassy in the city-state that 21 Chinese nationals in the country were confirmed to have been infected by the virus. 

The Indian foreign ministry also confirmed that 13 of its nationals in Singapore had tested positive for Zika after an outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease first affected three dozen workers at a construction site. 

Six Bangladeshi nationals have also tested positive for Zika in Singapore, the High Commission of Bangladesh said.

"We were informed yesterday by MOH [Ministry of Health] that of those tested positive, as of noon on August 30, six are Bangladeshi nationals," Mahbub Uz Zaman, High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Singapore told Reuters.

Singapore Ministry of Health and the National Environment Agency said in a joint statement late on Wednesday that they had identified 24 new infections plus nine more detected as a result of testing previous cases, bringing the total to 115.

A pregnant woman was among those who tested positive for the virus.

"Her doctor is following up closely to monitor her health and the development of her baby," the statement said. "She will be referred to a maternal-foetal medicine specialist for counselling and advice."

Thai Public Health Minister Dr Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn said yesterday that there had been 13 Zika cases over the past week in Chiang Mai, Chanthaburi, Phetchabun and Bung Kan provinces. Though not all patients are in serious condition, officials will still be monitoring the areas for 28 days to see if any new cases arise.

Insisting that Thailand does not have a Zika outbreak and that the affected areas were well controlled, Piyasakol called on people to help eradicate the breeding grounds of Zika-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and larvae at home, workplace or public venues. He said these measures would be effective in preventing Zika and dengue fever. 

Malaysia recorded its first Zika case, a 58-year-old woman in Bandar Botanic in Klang. She is suspected to have been infected on Wednesday, after recently visiting her daughter in Singapore, The Star reported.

The mosquito-borne virus, which has been detected in 67 countries and territories including hardest-hit Brazil, causes only mild symptoms for most people, such as fever and a rash.

But in pregnant women it can cause microcephaly, a deformation in which babies are born with abnormally small brains and heads.

Brazil, where the disease has become an epidemic, has reported 1,835 cases of microcephaly, the World Health Organisation said.

Singapore on Wednesday urged pregnant women showing symptoms of fever or rashes to get tested. The city-state spends about S$1 million (Bt25.4 million) per day on exterminating mosquitoes to deal with the outbreak.

Fogging has been implemented in areas in Singapore and Malaysia, and border checks between Malaysia and Singapore, and Singapore and Indonesia, have been tightened. Jakarta has warned its citizens against non-essential travel to Singapore due to Zika. 

The United States and Britain have joined Australia and Taiwan in advising pregnant women to avoid non-essential travel to the city-state, while a local health expert warned the infection rate would rise.

China's quarantine authorities said yesterday that they have been increasing health screenings of travellers arriving from Singapore. It is also stepping up inspection of shipments arriving from Singapore, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in an online statement. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Travel-warnings-as-Zika-cases-in-Singapore-cross-1-30294340.html

 

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