16 pregnant women in Singapore confirmed to have Zika: Health Ministry
Published 10 hours ago
Chew Hui Min
SINGAPORE - Sixteen women in Singapore are confirmed to have Zika, said the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (Sept 23).
“Their doctors are following up closely with them to provide support and counselling,” said an MOH spokesman.
The number has doubled from the eight cases that were confirmed on Sept 11.
In Brazil, Zika has been linked to microcephaly in babies born to mothers with the virus.
Microcephaly is a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems.
MOH is also exploring plans to set up a national surveillance programme to monitor the development of babies born to pregnant women with Zika, it told Channel NewsAsia.
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Parliament: Financial help available for pregnant women with Zika
PublishedSep 14, 2016, 5:00 am SGT
Linette Lai
Pregnant women who test positive for the Zika virus but cannot afford regular scans and follow-up treatment will not be left without help, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday.
He assured them that, if necessary, additional aid is available from Medifund, a government scheme for those who cannot pay their medical bills after exhausting all other avenues.
“For treatment in our public healthcare institutions, they can always access our subsidy framework if they are subsidised patients,” he said, when replying to Ms Tin Pei Ling (MacPherson) in Parliament.
“If they are unable to afford the costs, especially for the lower-income families, Medifund is available for them.”
In his ministerial statement on Zika yesterday, Mr Gan acknowledged that pregnant women are “understandably anxious” about the outbreak of the mosquito- borne infection.
“We are paying particular attention to them because of the possible risks to their foetuses if they are infected by Zika,” he said.
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http://www.straitstimes.com/singapor...omen-with-zika
This only shows the government’s inability to control the Aedes mosquito which is also responsible for the dengue fever . Singapore being such a small country .
Quote:
Originally Posted by
sadfa
My sympathies to them.
If got birth defect, will garbagement pay or greatly subside?
Or tell them to fend for themselves. And yet tell them have more babies.
_________
Exchange points is say one thing, do another ma?
Having a baby is a life long commitment to the parents. The government should do more to assist these affected parents.
Zika cases in Singapore reach 393
Published: 6:44 PM, September 26, 2016
Updated: 6:46 PM, September 26, 2016
SINGAPORE — A total of six new cases of locally-transmitted Zika were identified over the weekend from after 3pm on Sept 23 to Sept 25, according to the latest update on the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) Zika webpage.
Of these, four were identified after 3pm on Friday (Sept 23) and on Saturday. Two new cases were reported on Sunday.
No new cases were reported on Monday as of 3pm.
This brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 393.
There are no new clusters identified.
There are now nine clusters: Aljunied Crescent/Sims Drive/Paya Lebar Way/Kallang Way/Circuit Road/Geylang East Central/Geylang East Avenue 1; Bedok North Avenue 2/Bedok North Avenue 3/Bedok North Street 3; Joo Seng Road; Bishan Street 12; Elite Terrace; Ubi Crescent; Jalan Raya/Circuit Road; Sengkang Central/Sengkang East Avenue and Hougang Ave 7.
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A month on, Zika tails off, but experts warn against complacency
More research needed to understand the disease so it can be effectively managed
By Tan Weizhen
Published: 4:00 AM, September 27, 2016
Updated: 7:36 AM, September 27, 2016
SINGAPORE — While the number of Zika cases has dropped quite sharply in the last two weeks, medical experts here warned against complacency about the disease that looks set to stay.
They also stressed the need to do more research on this relatively unknown disease, especially on its link to microcephaly — where babies are born with abnormally small heads or brain defects — and in developing affordable and rapid test kits.
The number of Zika infection cases has fallen steadily over the weeks. There were 103 cases in the week of Sept 4 to 10, down from 215 cases the week before. Between Sept 11 and 17, there were 62 cases, and the number fell further to 11 for the week of Sept 18 to 24.
Two cases were reported between Sunday and 3pm yesterday. This brings the total number of cases in Singapore to 393, and no new clusters have been identified so far this week.
Dr Lim Chien Chuan from Sims Drive Medical Clinic, located in the initial outbreak cluster, said that the clinic has not seen any new cases over the past two weeks.
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A Zika victim’s lament: I’m worried about what future holds
By Tan Weizhen
Published: 4:00 AM, September 27, 2016
Updated: 7:37 AM, September 27, 2016
SINGAPORE — She has fully recovered from Zika but personal trainer Daphne Maia Loo is still worried.
Although many perceive Zika as a mild illness, the 33-year-old, who has two auto-immune conditions, is concerned because very little is known about the full or long-term effects of the disease.
“We don’t know the long-term effects,” she said, noting that Zika has been linked to the Guillain-Barre syndrome and auto-immune complications. “We don’t know what triggers auto-immune conditions, but there’s definitely a worry that one will set off another … I personally get really irritated when people say it’s a mild disease, as we just don’t have enough information on the effects yet.”
Ms Loo added: “Some people say it’s only dangerous for pregnant women, or that the strain here is not as dangerous for pregnant women as that in South America. But how do we know that is the case in the long term? Viruses also mutate, and it could get worse. It is not something we should downplay.”
Ms Loo came down with fever on Sept 2, days after the Ministry of Health confirmed the first locally transmitted Zika cases. The following night, she went to the accident and emergency department at Tan Tock Seng Hospital and was taken to the holding area where suspected Zika patients stayed while waiting for their blood test results.
“I was brought in at about 10pm. It was past midnight by the time they took my blood. I waited till about 8am before they confirmed I had Zika,” she recounted. “It was very uncomfortable while (I was) waiting, as I was only given a chair. Beds were limited, and only those who were very sick got them.”
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New dengue cases last week rose slightly to 176, halting two-week decline
Published 2 hours ago
SINGAPORE - The number of new dengue cases last week rose slightly to halt a two-week slide, according to the latest figures on the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) dengue website.
There were 176 reported cases of the mosquito-borne virus - two more than the previous week. This was the third lowest weekly figure, with the lowest of 161 recorded in June.
A total of 11,924 dengue cases have been reported since the start of the year.
Seven people have died from dengue this year, three more than in the whole of last year.
With Singapore still in the traditional peak dengue season, the NEA said it is still anticipating an upward trend in the number of cases.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by
thomasdelaruue
bishan st 12 ,no new zika case.
Consider case close
This proves that you do not know how to cut and paste. People want to know where you get the source. The case not close as long as there is still Aedes mosquito around.
Bishan Street 12 Zika cluster first to close, after no new cases in two weeks
Published 3 hours ago
Annabeth Leow
SINGAPORE - The Zika cluster at Bishan Street 12 was declared closed on Wednesday (Sept 28) by the National Environment Agency (NEA).
It is the first Zika cluster to close since the outbreak began in Singapore on Aug 27.
Five cases were linked to the area, which was designated a cluster on Sept 6.
No new cases have been reported in the past two weeks, although the NEA said that the area will be kept under close surveillance for another three weeks, until Oct 10.
The NEA has carried out vector control measures in the area, detecting and destroying two mosquito-breeding sites in homes and six more in other premises.
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Bedok North Zika cluster closed after no new cases for two weeks
Published 2 hours ago
Chew Hui Min
SINGAPORE - The Zika cluster at Bedok North was closed on Friday, the second one to close since the outbreak began in Singapore on Aug 27.
There were five cases at this cluster which included Bedok North Avenue 3, Bedok North Avenue 2 and Bedok North Street 3.
No new cases have been found in the area in the last two weeks.
Bishan Street 12 Zika cluster first to close, after no new cases in two weeks
There were no new Zika cases reported on Friday (Sept 30), said the National Environment Agency. The number of locally-transmitted cases for 2016 is now 398.
The first cluster to be declared closed was at Bishan Street 12 on Wednesday.
There are now seven remaining Zika clusters around the island. Six have not seen any cases in the last two weeks.
Only the Aljunied cluster has had five new cases. There are now 298 cases there.
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