FOLLOWING reports of Singapore’s first imported case of the Zika virus on Friday, Malaysia’s Health Ministry has advised its citizens who work in the island republic to take precautions.
Hundreds of thousands of Malaysians commute to their jobs in Singapore on a daily basis, raising concerns of the virus finding its way across the causeway.
Malaysian Health Minister Dr S. Subramaniam advised those who regularly travel into Singapore to take preventive measures, such as wearing long sleeves and applying mosquito repellent to avoid bites.
“While it would take two to three weeks for the Singapore authorities to establish where the patient contracted the disease, there’s nothing wrong with early preventive measures,” he told reporters on Sunday, reported The Star.
Subramaniam also said that the Public Health Department in Johor Bahru, the Malaysian city closest to Singapore, has been instructed to step up efforts against the spread of Aedes mosquitoes, which is a known carrier of dengue and Zika viruses.
The ministry is also increasing surveillance of all international entryways into the country, and as part of efforts to raise awareness, visitors and Malaysian nationals returning from Singapore will be given a “health alert card” with information to help them identify Zika symptoms and what to do in cases of infection.
Since June 2015, as many as 472 blood samples have been tested for the Zika virus in Malaysia, but so far, no results have come back positive.
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On Friday, Singapore’s Ministry of Health (MOH) and National Environment Agency (NEA) announced Singapore’s first imported case of the Zika virus.
In a joint statement, they reported that the patient was a 48-year-old male Singaporean permanent resident who had travelled to São Paulo, Brazil from March 27 to May 7.
Upon his return, the patient developed a fever and rash and was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital on May 12, where he was put in isolation.
“The patient tested positive for Zika virus infection on May 13. He will be transferred to the Communicable Diseases Centre at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for treatment and isolation to minimize the chances of being bitten by mosquitoes and spreading the infection in the community.
“The patient is currently well and recovering. He will only be discharged upon being tested negative for the Zika virus,” said the MOH and NEA in the statement.
Both agencies are currently carrying out measures to monitor and prevent the spread of the virus, such as screening the patient’s household members and intensifying the vector control operations in the area.
Zika and dengue are both endemic to tropical climates, and patients tend to display similar symptoms, such as muscle and joint pain, rashes, headaches and fever. Southeast Asian countries have had cases of Zika as recently as 2010.
However, a recent outbreak of the Zika virus in South America and its suspected link to causing microcephaly – a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development – among babies has raised serious health concerns around the world.
Neither disease have a vaccine yet, though researchers are currently carrying out clinical testing in regions vulnerable to the viruses.
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