Singapore Takes Effort to Fight Zika Virus

As many as 41 cases of Zika virus has been confirmed in Singapore. Thirty-six of the cases were foreigners working at a condominium construction site.

Singapore has taken efforts to fight Zika virus after confirming 41 locally transmitted cases. Health officials armed with protective suits and insecticide spray cans went door-to-door to wipe out mosquitoes.

Inspectors from the National Environment Agency visited homes in the suburban district where all the cases -- mostly foreign construction workers -- were reported, to check for potential breeding sites.

Zika Fever - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention
Zika virus is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes which causes mild fever with maculopapular rash. No treatment or vaccine is currently available.

‘Singapore health officials carried out insecticide fogging in public places, pumping a mosquito-killing mist over large areas on the ground. ’

As neighboring countries took steps to prevent the spread of the disease from Singapore, officers also carried out insecticide fogging operations in the district.

Zika causes only mild symptoms for most people, such as fever and a rash, and has been detected in 58 countries particularly Brazil.

But in pregnant women, it can cause microcephaly, a deformation in which babies are born with abnormally small brains and heads.

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Microcephaly, a very usual feature in cases of Zika virus gestational infection, is just one of several observed brain changes.

Singapore, a densely-populated tropical island with frequent rain, has a chronic problem with dengue, which is spread by the same Aedes mosquito that transmits Zika through bites from an infected person to another human.

Inspectors checked toilets and other areas for stagnant water that could help mosquitos breed.

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Owners of homes found with such sites can be fined up to Sg$5,000 ($3,700).

Contractors also carried out insecticide fogging in public places, pumping a mosquito-killing mist over large areas on the ground.

Swift Action Needed To Minimize Economic Impact Of Zika Outbreak: World Bank
The impact of the mosquito-borne Zika virus will be modest, if $3.5 billion, or 0.06 percentage points is taken off of gross domestic output (GDP) for the affected region this year.

The government Sunday confirmed the 41 cases, of whom 36 are foreigners working at a condominium construction site.

Work was halted at the site on Saturday after environment agency officers found that housekeeping was "unsatisfactory with potential breeding habitats" for mosquitoes.

Source-AFP