“There is a potential new cluster involving one previously reported case and a new case today.”, the statement said.
Advertisement
“As demonstrated by the inability to eradicate dengue, the same can be said for Zika virus”, Cameron Webb, a medical entomologist at the University of Sydney, told Reuters.
Official sources said the 13 Indian nationals in Singapore have been admitted to hospital, where they will stay until they test negative for the virus.
She said they procured additional kits to deal with the Zika scare.
As of Wednesday, 57 reported cases are among foreign construction workers, including 13 Indians, based in the residential Aljunied Crescent neighbourhood in Singapore were reported.
“There are no reports of infected Filipinos from other countries either”, she said. She said the virus can also be transmitted through blood transfusion. But newborns of infected mothers are at risk of microcephaly, a birth defect in which a baby’s brain is smaller than normal.
The pace at which the infection numbers have risen in Singapore highlights how fast Zika can spread but equally, it also shows the government’s ability to detect the virus. People typically develop symptoms between 3 and 14 days after they are bitten.
“An estimated 2.6 billion people live in areas of Africa and Asia-Pacific where local Zika virus transmission is possible”, said Dr. Khan.
The state has so far identified 49 cases of people who contracted the virus locally, the Florida health department says.
This is a theoretical possibility, however.
Some experts pointed out that the expected impact of Zika will depend largely on whether people have any previous exposure to the virus – and that is unknown. Brazil has confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly in the past year.
In his first public remarks on the outbreak, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Thursday: “We must assume that Zika is elsewhere in Singapore”.
The disease has also been linked to a potentially fatal disorder known as Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can lead to nervous system problems such as weakness and paralysis. “But in other countries where it might enter at some time, that might not be the case”.
“Even if this outbreak of Zika virus was to stop tomorrow, there is no reason why an infected traveller may not bring Zika virus back to Singapore”, said entomologist Webb.
The ministry is advising people who are traveling to endemic areas to wear long sleeve shirts to protect to protect against mosquitoes.
A key risk area identified was Angola, due to its strong cultural ties, and travel links, with Brazil.
Singapore and British Virgin Islands were the latest countries and territories that reported Zika virus infection, according to the World Health Organization situation report.
In Asia, India was particularly at risk, the team found.
Advertisement
The study authors “have produced a helpful guide to where our surveillance should be concentrated”, said Gatherer.
