Freiden said that the two localized mosquito-borne outbreaks in Miami are “quite hard to control”, adding that the mosquitoes that spread Zika “are the cockroach of mosquitoes”.
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According to DOH, testing kits for Zika virus are not available commercially and only research centers such as Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States has it.
What is the Zika virus?
There is no evidence a strain of the Zika virus that has broken out in Singapore is more or less severe than the one circulating in Latin America, media reported on Thursday, citing the health ministry.
The DOH reminds the public to remember and use “4S” against Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases. Use regulation-strength mosquito repellant, practice safe sex, and take steps to prevent mosquitos from entering your home. Other uncertainties surround the incubation period of the virus and how Zika interacts with other viruses that are transmitted by mosquitoes, such as dengue.
Recently, Florida health officials have announced 43 cases of local transmission of Zika in Florida, and in an unprecedented move the CDC has issued travel advisories for two neighborhoods in Miami. Several more babies have been delivered with Zika-related birth defects in the U.S.
Ms Tin Pei Ling has asked if free Zika screening can be offered to residents of affected areas and what support will be given to pregnant women suspected of being infected with the virus. In New York, 701 cases have been reported to the New York State Department of Health, seven in Orange County.
The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found. The mosquito is the same type that spreads dengue and chikungunya, making the risk greater in areas in southern China, such as parts of Guangdong, Yunnan and Hainan provinces. Mosquitoes who bite people infected with the virus can then carry it to the next person.
Zika is transmitted through a mosquito and by sexual contact.
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