“The Singapore Health Ministry informed us that 21 Chinese citizens have been infected by the Zika virus, and so the Foreign Ministry has issued a travel alert and urges people to take precautions against this infectious disease”, Hua said.
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The woman developed a rash a week after her return and later tested positive for Zika in her urine, he said. Full confirmation via blood tests is pending. The woman recently visited her daughter in Singapore, The Star reports.
The health ministry has already started “vector control” operations to control the mosquito population in the residential area of the case and other places that the patient had visited.
Dormitory operators, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said government agencies carry out regular site inspections, and this week sprayed insecticide and looked for potential mosquito breeding habitats.
Zika is transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti and causes symptoms similar to dengue.
On Thursday, Malaysia’s Health Ministry said a 58-year-old woman who traveled to Singapore had become that country’s first Zika case.
Between Aug. 27-31, 115 confirmed Zika cases were reported in Singapore – Malaysia’s closest neighbor to which it is well-connected by roadways enabling thousands of people to cross the border daily.
He advised people traveling to and from Singapore to use mosquito repellent and to wear long-sleeved shirts and pants to reduce risk of mosquito bites.
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Debbie Fordyce, member of the executive committee of the group Transient Workers Count Too, noted that Singapore doesn’t release a nationality breakdown of foreign workers in its construction industry, so it’s not surprising it has not disclosed where workers with the Zika virus are from. Authorities assured that Thailand is following worldwide health regulations and observing the World Health Organisation’s advice on the disease including implementing epidemiology surveillance, vector surveillance, birth-defect newborn surveillance, and nervous system adverse event surveillance.
