Health Ministry confirms 41 locally transmitted Zika cases

(Photo: Associated Press)

UPDATED at 11.18am, 29 August 2016, to include additional comments from MOH.

UPDATED at 8.56am, 29 August 2016, to include comments from Minister of State for MOH Chee Hong Tat.

UPDATED at 6.46pm, 28 August 2016, to include more profiles of those who tested positive for Zika.

UPDATED at 6.15pm, 28 August 2016, to include comments from Health Minister Gan Kim Yong and information on other areas of concern.

There have been 41 confirmed cases of locally-transmitted Zika among residents or workers in the Aljunied Crescent and Sims Drive area.

Among this number are 36 foreign construction workers, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) and National Environment Agency (NEA) in a joint press release on Sunday (28 August).

The 41 cases were detected following tests conducted on Saturday (27 August), which included testing on 118 construction workers.

Besides the 36 construction workers, the other five cases involve: a Singaporean father, 65, and his son, 21, who both live at Sims Drive; a Singaporean man, 30, who works at a Sims Drive construction site; an unemployed Singaporean man, 40, who lives at Sims Drive; and a Malaysian woman, 47, who lives at Aljunied Crescent.

The Malaysian woman was confirmed on Saturday to be Singapore’s first case of locally transmitted Zika.

None of the infected people are known to have travelled to Zika-affected areas, which suggests that the transmission occurred locally. Of the 41 cases, 34 have since recovered while the remaining seven are still showing symptoms and are recovering at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

The release said that the transmission of the virus seems to be “localised within the Aljunied Crescent or Sims Drive cluster”, although there are other areas of concern – these being Khatib Camp, Sembawang Drive, Kranji Road, Joo Chiat Place, Senoko South Road, Toh Guan Road East and Lorong 101 Changi.

Those living or working in the Aljunied Crescent-Sims Drive area and other areas of concern have been advised to monitor their health, especially in the case of pregnant women. Those showing symptoms of fever and rash should seek medical attention and inform their doctors of the location of their residence and workplace, the release said.

In a Straits Times video, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said: “To date we have confirmed at total of 41 locally transmitted Zika cases. But we do expect more cases to emerge over time, partly because of the active testing that we are now carrying out in the areas of concern and partly due to new cases that may emerge.”

He added that controlling Aedes mosquito populations is the “most important strategy” in mitigating the spread of the virus.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) however said in an updated statement that they are not able to rule out further transmission of the virus in Singapore.

“Given that the Zika virus is spread by the Aedes mosquito vector, MOH cannot rule out further community transmission in Singapore, since some of those tested positive also live or work in other parts of Singapore,” the MOH said.

The MOH also noted other areas of concern, which include Khatib Camp, Sembawang Drive and places where construction workers live (Kranji Road, Joo Chiat Place, Senoko South Road, Toh Guan Road East and Lor 101 Changi).

Minister of State for MOH Chee Hong Tat on the other hand, issued a statement on Facebook early Monday (29 August) saying there has been no attempt to cover up the number of Zika cases in the country.

“This is certainly not true…My colleagues in Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency - NEA have been working hard over the past few days to provide timely updates on the latest developments and to coordinate with residents, community leaders and healthcare professionals on the follow-up actions. This includes colleagues from the laboratories who are doing confirmation tests for suspected cases - they have been working till way past midnight to complete the tests, so that the results can be announced in a timely manner.”

More information on the Zika virus in Singapore can be obtained on the Singapore Government’s Factually website.