World on alert for Zika outbreaks

PETALING JAYA: Countries worldwide are not taking the Zika virus lightly.

The Singapore Health Ministry has confirmed 41 cases of locally transmitted Zika, all of whom were residents or workers in the Aljunied Crescent and Sims Drive area.

They included 36 foreign construction workers.

In all, 34 of them have fully recovered while the remaining seven are still symptomatic and recovering at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, according to the ministry.

It was reported that none of the people are known to have travelled to Zika-affected areas recently.

The republic had its first imported Zika case after a 48-year-old man returned from Brazil.

Singapore’s National Environ­mental Agency has intensified vector control operations targeting Aedes mosquitoes, which spread the virus.

The operation will continue for 14 days, to be followed by surveillance.

In the United States, there have been more than 2,500 cases that were locally acquired, mosquito-borne, travel-associated, laboratory-acquired or sexually transmitted.

The US Food and Drug Administration wants all US blood banks to start screening for the Zika virus.

Previously, the requirement was limited to areas with active Zika transmission such as Puerto Rico and two counties in Florida.

In the state of Texas, pregnant women have been provided with mosquito repellents to avoid possible infections.

It was reported that Texas is deemed as one of the most vulnerable states to a Zika outbreak.

In Canada, there have been 232 travel-related Zika cases and two sexually-transmitted ones.

As of last Thursday, Canada also confirmed three maternal-fetal transmissions of the Zika virus, including one transmission that exhibited severe neurological congenital anomalies.

Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory conducts mosquito surveillance in several provinces and territories.