Brazil Olympic venues to be checked daily to help stop Zika
As zika virus is sweeping through Latin America, the advice for Kiwi women who are pregnant or planning to be is to hold off travelling to affected countries.
The ministry would continue to monitor World Health Organisation (WHO) investigations into worldwide outbreaks of zika virus and would provide updated information.
There have been travel-related cases of Zika virus reported in Canada in returned travellers from countries where the virus is known to circulate.
Most people who have contracted the illness experience no symptoms.
In 70 to 80 per cent of cases, the disease goes unnoticed.
Olympic organisers are stepping up their efforts to battle the spread of zika virus to try to contain the mosquito-borne outbreak ahead of the Rio 2016 Games.
The Zika virus causes, among other symptoms, fever, non-purulent conjunctivitis, headaches, joint pain, and also the inflammation of various parts of the body, and in some cases causes vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.
She said if anyone had to travel to these areas, they should be “very, very good at wearing insect repellent”. The virus has been linked to an uptick in babies born with a neurological condition called microcephaly which can cause abnormally small heads and serious, sometimes deadly, developmental delays.
Rio officials say their health workers will focus on getting rid of stagnant water, an easy breeding ground for mosquitoes.
However, mosquito bites and mother to unborn baby aren’t the only ways this virus is transmitted. “Until there is a lot more research, they’re not going to know for certain that Zika is definitely linked with microcephaly, but… out of an abundance of caution they are advising people to be careful”.
Brazilian officials also are investigating a near-simultaneous rise in Guillain-Barre and Zika, which was first identified in the country in May. When it was first detected in Brazil, health officials were not initially alarmed since the virus appeared to be like a less potent form of dengue.
All three had travelled to areas outside the United States where the mosquito-borne ailment is spreading rapidly, the New York State Department of Health said, without specifying where.
After more than 5,000 suspected Zika cases were reported previous year and in the first weeks of 2016, El Salvador on Thursday took the most extreme stance so far: Deputy Health Minister Eduardo Espinoza urged women to avoid pregnancy before 2018.
Yesterday, Dr Khor said that while there have been no reported cases of Zika here yet, Singaporeans should remain vigilant.