The mosquito control efforts are in response to York County receiving confirmation from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) of a travel associated case of Zika virus in a person who traveled outside of the country. The country’s health ministry confirmed an average of 20 new cases every week over the past three weeks.
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“The number of cases is stable”, he said, without giving further details. Governments have since warned their citizens about travelling to areas where the Zika virus is spreading actively.
Malaysia and the Philippines have also reported cases.
The lineage of the virus circulating in Asia is different to the one in the Americas, researchers say.
Suwannachai urged the public not to panic and reiterated a message aimed at reassuring tourists.
In May, the World Health Organisation said that there was a moderate likelihood of an outbreak of the Zika virus in Israel.
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Zika is primarily transmitted by certain types of tropical mosquitoes and can cause severe brain-related birth defects, including microcephaly (my-kroh-SEF’-uh-lee). Meanwhile Korea has confirmed its twelth case of Zika infection. The latest victim is said to be in an “advanced state of recovery”.
