“We teamed up to look for small molecule compounds that can inhibit Zika virus replication”, said Hengli Tang, Professor of Biological Science at FSU.
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Many of those initially infected were foreign workers on a condominium construction project, whom health authorities say are more suspectible because they live and work in close proximity.
The virus most likely came from local transmission because the woman had no history of travel to any affected country in the past two weeks, Tayag said.
In a joint statement, the Ministry of Health and the National Environment Agency confirmed 16 new cases, four of which were not linked to existing cluster areas.
“We can not yet say for sure how she got infected but it is possible that this is sporadic and no other people will be infected”. The virus can also be transmitted through blood transfusion.
One third of babies infected with Zika in utero have eye disease such as inflammation of the optic nerve, retinal damage or blindness, the researchers said.
Mr Subuh said the Ministry was actively monitoring for Zika, but experts said authorities would struggle to identify patients as few hospitals offer Zika testing, and those that did expected patients to pay more than $198 for a test, putting it out of reach of many ordinary Indonesians.
Although just 14 per cent see Zika virus as a personal threat, 62 per cent see it as a threat to pregnant women, and 77 per cent said places where people have been infected with Zika by mosquitos are generally unsafe for women who are pregnant.
The public has no cause for alarm despite reported cases in Singapore and Malaysia of locally transmitted Zika virus, she added.
Following the woman’s confirmed case of Zika infection, the Department of Health (DOH) advised the public to avoid mosquito bites to protect against Zika and prevent its spread.
“The threat of microcephaly makes it vital for all pregnant women to be screened for Zika in countries with local transmission”, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director, WHO South East Asia.
Both dengue and Zika are spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is common across Southeast Asia.
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According the Ministry of Heath of Singapore, the patients are presented with mild symptoms and have either recovered or recovering.
