The Singapore Health Ministry said that the city-state has got its first Zika patient who was locally infected by the virus. Besides, three other people have also tested positive in the preliminary round of screening but need to undergo further tests before the virus is confirmed, reported Reuters.
The patient affected by the mosquito-borne virus is a 47-year-old Malaysian woman who works in Singapore. She was down with fever, had rashes and conjunctivitis before she went to the doctor. She has since been hospitalised and health officials said she was recuperating. They are expecting more cases in the near future. A health ministry official told Reuters, “With the volume of travel by Singaporeans as well as tourists, it is inevitable there will be imported cases of Zika into Singapore.”
As precautionary measures, the National Environment Agency has deployed 100 volunteers to carry out fogging in different areas of Singapore. The government has also asked clinics to be alert. Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said, “We are working together to carry out vector control and testing of residents with fever and rashes, so as to reduce the risk of further spread.”
The virus has been linked to birth defects in pregnant women infected by it. Cases of microcephaly (smaller brains in foetuses or new borns) linked to Zika virus have been reported in Brazil from 2015. In February this year, the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak an international public health emergency. Till date, there has been no vaccine or treatment for Zika.
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