SINGAPORE – Singapore authorities on Sunday confirmed 27 more cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection, bringing the total there to 242, shortly after a new study showed 2.6-billion people live in countries ideal for Zika to spread.
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As of today, there were 241 affected state residents, 32 of whom were pregnant women, who caught the virus by travel, health officials said.
The connection between Zika and microcephaly first came to light past year in Brazil, which has since confirmed more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly.
All three had been to areas where Zika virus is being transmitted locally, specifically the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and the Philippines. “The virus from these two patients was not imported from South America”.
The confirmation came two days after Malaysia confirmed its first Zika case after a 58-year-old woman who recently traveled to Singapore – where the number of reported infections has risen to 189 – tested positive for the virus.
In adults, Zika infections have also been linked to a rare neurological syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, as well as other neurological disorders.
Malaysia, home to nearly 30 million people, has boosted its efforts to screen travelers from overseas and increased insecticide spraying to kill mosquitoes.
Malaysia has stepped up screening of travellers from overseas, particularly Singapore, and fogging with mosquito-killing chemicals while urging the public to eliminate mosquito breeding sites such as stagnant water.
Nearly 80 percent of people infected with the virus will have no symptoms.
Though not common, people with the virus can experience symptoms of fever, rash, joint pain, headache and red eyes.
Malaysia’s health system has already been stretched thin by dengue fever, which is also spread by the Aedes mosquito and can be fatal.
But regional health experts believe Zika is significantly under-reported in Southeast Asia as authorities fail to conduct adequate screening and also because of its usually mild symptoms.
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“However, there are still many unknowns about the virus and how it spreads, including which local species of mosquito are most capable of transmitting the virus, and whether immunity exists in areas that have previously reported cases of Zika virus”.
