Thirteen Indians test positive for Zika in Singapore

Foreign ministry confirmed on Thursday that 13 of its nationals had tested positive for the Zika virus in Singapore, after an outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease that at first affected three dozen workers on a construction site.

"According to our mission in Singapore 13 Indian nationals have tested positive for Zika in Singapore," Vikas Swarup, spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs, said in response to a Reuters inquiry.

U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies.

 

 115 Zika cases in Singapore

 

Singapore has confirmed its first case of a pregnant woman testing positive for the Zika virus infection, as the number of cases of the mosquito-borne virus in the city-state rose to 115.

The Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency said the pregnant woman was living in the virus-hit housing and industrial area of Sims Drive/Aljunied Crescent in the southeast of the island.

The woman, who displayed mild symptoms of the virus, was taken to KK Women's and Children's Hospital yesterday. A member of her household was also diagnosed as positive for Zika.

Her doctor is following up closely with her to monitor her health as well as the development of the baby, authorities said. Meanwhile, a new potential cluster was identified in the housing estate of Bedok North Avenue 3, the MOH and NEA said in a statement yesterday.

NEA said it would begin mosquito control operations at the cluster involving three previously reported cases. "Our efforts will extend to other parts of Singapore," the NEA said, adding it will stepping up its vector control efforts to wider areas.

"Over time, we expect Zika cases to emerge from more areas," Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said in a statement. "We must work and plan on the basis that there is Zika transmission in other parts of Singapore and extend our vector control efforts beyond the current affected areas."