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Tag: Zika Virus

  • Operasi Penyemburan Asap Dimulakan Di Simon Place, Sehari Selepas Kelompok Zika Dikesan

    Operasi Penyemburan Asap Dimulakan Di Simon Place, Sehari Selepas Kelompok Zika Dikesan

    Sehari selepas kelompok Zika yang pertama tahun ini disahkan di Simon Place di Hougang, operasi penyemburan asap mula dijalankan di estet perumahan tersebut.

    Semalam (29 Mac), Agensi Sekitaran Kebangsaan (NEA) mengesahkan bahawa dua anggota keluarga di estet itu dijangkiti virus Zika.

    Notis NEA yang dipasang di kawasan itu menyatakan NEA akan menjalankan operasi penyemburan asap haba di kawasan-kawasan luar di kejiranan itu untuk menghapuskan nyamuk-nyamuk dewasa yang boleh merebakkan virus tersebut.

    Para pegawai NEA juga dilihat mengunjungi para penduduk dari rumah ke rumah sekitar 9.00 pagi untuk memaklumkan bahawa operasi penyemburan asap akan bermula tidak lama lagi.

    Anggota Parlimen GRC Aljunied Sylvia Lim bercakap kepada para wartawan pagi tadi semasa mengunjungi kawasan itu semasa operasi NEA dijalankan.

    “Para penduduk di kawasan itu sudah biasa dengan kelompok penyakit-penyakit bawaan nyamuk – dalam beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini, penularan denggi juga berlaku di sini. Jadi mereka agak berdaya tahan, mereka secara umum tahu apa yang harus dilakukan dan cara melindungi diri mereka,” katanya.

    Selain operasi penyemburan asap di kawasan-kawasan luar, para pegawai NEA juga akan menyembur selaput wap dengan isi padu rendah di semua rumah, katanya, dan menggesa semua penduduk memberi kerjasama.

    “Saya faham pada masa lalu sesetengah penduduk diperiksa beberapa kali dan mereka agak letih. Tapi anda tidak akan tahu jika keadaan sudah berubah, jadi tolonglah bekerjasama dengan pihak berkuasa,” ujarnya.

    “Pada masa yang sama, kami mesti terus bertenang dan terus memikirkan perspektifnya… jangan terlalu panik dengan situasi ini.”

    KLINIK-KLINIK: TIADA LAGI KES DIKESAN

    Para doktor biasa (GP) di kawasan itu yang bercakap kepada Mediacorp pagi tadi berkata tiada di kalangan pesakit mereka menunjukkan tanda-tanda Zika.

    Namun Dr Chua Boon Ling dari Simon Road Family Clinic berkata dalam dua minggu lepas, seorang pesakit datang dengan simptom flu dan kembali beberapa hari kemudian dengan demam panas.

    Dr Chua berkata oleh kerana kawasan itu diisytiharkan sebagai kelompok Zika, Dr Chua berkata beliau akan memantau pesakit itu.

    Klinik itu juga akan menjalankan ujian-ujian terhadap pesakit yang disyaki dijangkiti Zika.

    Source: BeritaMediacorp

  • SDP: Government Must Stop Excuses, Give Singaporeans Timely Information

    SDP: Government Must Stop Excuses, Give Singaporeans Timely Information

    The attempted clarifications by Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong and other Ministry of Health (MOH) officials about the outbreak of the 41 Zika cases in Singapore raise fresh concerns.

    The first case was detected on 31 July 2016. MOH had preliminary results before this was confirmed on 27 August 2016 but decided not to inform the public because it did not want to “create a false alarm”.

    Given the seriousness of the disease and the ease of which it is transmitted, it behooves health officials to alert the public about the possibility of its transmission as early as possible.

    The government has to stop its excuse of not wanting to cause alarm or panic (as in the case of the defective trains sent back to China for repairs) to keep vital information from the public. It must trust Singaporeans to react rationally and provide full information in a timely manner.

    Medical professionals do not withhold information from their patients even when illnesses are only suspected but need further testing for confirmation. In such cases, patients are given the full account of the situation rather than kept in the dark.

    Similarly, the public should be kept fully informed even if a matter is still in the developing stage.

    The provision of complete information is a practice that must be the norm. Withholding information for fear of creating “panic” or “alarm” is a dangerous practice that can be abused to keep important facts that the government finds embarrassing or inconvenient from the public.

    Already, this government has a poor track record in as far as transparency is concerned, the Hepatitis-C outbreak tragedy and the defective MRT trains fiasco are but the most recent examples.

     

    Source: http://yoursdp.org

  • Singapore Hit By First Case Of Locally Transmitted Zika Virus Infection

    Singapore Hit By First Case Of Locally Transmitted Zika Virus Infection

    In the first case of locally-transmitted Zika infection here, a 47-year-old Malaysian woman living in Aljunied Crescent tested positive for the virus on Saturday (Aug 27) at the Communicable Diseases Centre (CDC) at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

    The patient, who had not travelled to Zika-affected areas recently, had developed symptoms two days earlier and was referred to the CDC by a general practitioner the day after, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a statement. She is hospitalised but is recovering.

    This is not the first case of Zika here. In May this year, a 48-year-old permanent resident was thought to have caught the virus on a business trip to Sao Paulo in Brazil.

    The two agencies said that importation of the virus from overseas is inevitable given the high volume of travel to and from Singapore, and that local transmission is also possible given the presence of the Aedes mosquito that spreads the virus.

    Furthermore, as many of the people infected with Zika do not show symptoms, some transmission may already have taken place before the latest case of Zika was identified.

    MOH is screening the patient’s close contacts, including household members.

    Health minister Gan Kim Yong said: “MOH and NEA are working together to carry out vector control and testing of residents in that area with fever and rashes so as to reduce the risk of further spread. I encourage those who are unwell and with these symptoms to visit their doctors for medical attention. We have also alerted our clinics in the area to look out for suspect cases and refer them to the CDC for testing.”

    MOH added that, as a precaution, all suspected Zika cases will be isolated pending blood test results.

    At this point, three other suspect cases – two in a family who live in the area and an individual who works in the area – have preliminarily tested positive based on their urine samples. They are pending further confirmation tests.

    MOH has also alerted all general practitioners around the patient’s home and workplace to be extra vigilant and immediately report patients with symptoms associated with Zika.

    Meanwhile, the NEA has deployed about 100 officers to the vicinity of Aljunied Crescent for inspections of premises, mosquito-control measures such as misting and drain oiling, and distribution of Zika information leaflets.

    The agency said it will also activate partner agencies of the Inter-Agency Dengue Task Force to step up “search and destroy” efforts.

    Singapore’s Olympians, who had just returned from the Rio Games, were not troubled by the virus while they were training and competing in Brazil and they have been told to continue taking precautions.

    Mr Low Teo Ping, chef de mission for Team Singapore at the Rio Olympics, said: “The athletes and officials of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Team Singapore contingent have returned to Singapore safe and symptom-free from Zika. We are keeping a close tab on the athletes and officials monitoring them for symptoms such as fever, skin rash, headache, fatigue, muscle pain, and joint pain for three weeks upon their return.

    “We have also advised them to continue to apply insect repellent and wear long sleeved clothing where possible and to avoid travel to multiple places in a day. Any occurrence and non-occurrence of symptoms are updated to the team doctor daily.”

     

    Source: The Straits Times

  • 48 Year Old PR First Positive Zika Case In Singapore

    48 Year Old PR First Positive Zika Case In Singapore

    The Ministry of Health (MOH) and National Environment Agency (NEA) reported Singapore’s first imported case of Zika on Friday (May 13).

    In a joint statement, MOH and NEA said: “The patient is a 48-year-old male Singapore Permanent Resident who had travelled to Sao Paulo, Brazil from Mar 27 to May 7. The patient developed fever and rash from May 10 and was admitted to Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital on May 12 and isolated.

    “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 minimise 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.”

    The statement added that MOH is screening the patient’s household members, and that the patient’s residence at Watten Estate is not an active cluster. It said that NEA has intensified vector control operations to control the Aedes mosquito population in the area, and that MOH and NEA would actively alert residents in the vicinity to seek medical attention should they develop symptoms of fever and rash.

    MOH and NEA nevertheless stated: “We advise residents of Watten Estate, Casa Perla, Hillcrest Arcadia, The Arcadia and Watten Hill Condominium to monitor their health.”

    Residents Channel NewsAsia spoke with said they were “quite alarmed to learn about the Zika virus”. Samuel Lim, 33, noted: “There are a lot of mosquitoes in this area. One walk around the nearby park, and you get 20 bites in one minute.” Mr Lim was referring to the playground at the junction of Watten Rise and Shelford Road. His wife, Emily Luah, 31, added: “I’m also four months pregnant so I’m quite worried about this, but there are only so many precautions I can take.”

    Another resident, John Westnedge, 52, said: “I’ll be completely honest. I think we are little freaked out and we’ll be wearing patches every day but that fades, unfortunately – so how do we keep that up? Or is this just a one-off event when someone went to Brazil and happened to be bitten by a mosquito with Zika and they’re now in Singapore with the Zika virus?”

    Watten Estate as pictured on Google Maps

    Environment and Water Resources Minister Masagos Zulkifli wrote on his Facebook page: “We need to work together as a community to minimise the risk of any spread of Zika in Singapore and take immediate steps to prevent mosquito breeding in our homes by doing the 5-step Mozzie Wipeout every alternate day, and protect ourselves from mosquito bites by applying insect repellent regularly.

    “The patient is currently well and recovering and will be discharged when tested negative for the Zika virus. I wish him a speedy recovery.”

    “CHALLENGING” TO STOP ZIKA FROM SPREADING TO SINGAPORE

    The Zika virus has been spreading widely through South America, in particular Brazil, where the virus was first linked with babies being born with microcephaly – abnormally small skulls and underdeveloped brains. On Feb 1, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Zika a global health emergency that needed a coordinated response.

    There have been no reports of outbreaks in Asia, although sporadic cases of local Zika infection have been detected in several countries in Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand previously. On Jan 19, Taiwan reported an imported case of Zika from Thailand; South Korea reported its first imported case on Mar 21; and Vietnam, its first infections on Apr 5.

    Health Minister Gan Kim Yong warned in January that said it may be “challenging” to prevent the virus from spreading and eventually becoming entrenched in Singapore. Mr Gan said in Parliament that the presence of the Aedes mosquito vector here is one reason for his assessment, and that the mild, non-specific nature of the symptoms in most infected patients would also make surveillance difficult.

    Zika was added to the list of legally notifiable infectious diseases on Jan 26, and all medical practitioners and diagnostic laboratories are required to notify MOH of suspected and confirmed cases of Zika virus infection within 24 hours.

    MOH also said in early February that it would set up a clinical advisory group on the Zika virus to provide expert advice on the management of pregnant women with Zika. Other precautionary measures were stepped up as well, including sending circulars to doctors and health advisories to travellers to and from Zika-affected countries.

    On Feb 29, Senior Minister of State for Health Amy Khor told Parliament that MOH and NEA would introduce more measures to tackle Zika. She said MOH would expand Zika virus testing capability to more public hospital laboratories, while NEA would step up the testing of blood samples for Zika from patients with fever, rashes and suspected dengue.

    There is no treatment or vaccine for Zika yet. Drugmakers are scrambling to develop a safe and effective vaccine for Zika, but the WHO has said it would take at least 18 months to start large-scale clinical trials.

    Source:: www.channelnewsasia.com