Vector control for Zika extended to Punggol Way, Joo Seng: NEA
By Loh Chuan Junn, Channel NewsAsia
Posted 01 Sep 2016 19:27
Updated 01 Sep 2016 19:31
SINGAPORE: A day after two isolated Zika cases were found in the Punggol Way and Joo Seng areas, the National Environment Agency (NEA) announced that it is commencing inspections and outreach in the areas.
In a joint briefing with the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Thursday (Sep 1), NEA said it was stepping up vector control measures in the areas in a bid to keep Zika incidences low.
At the briefing, NEA Director-General of Public Health Derek Ho also addressed the broader outbreak management efforts across the country.
Town councils within the Zika clusters identified have stepped up their cleaning and larviciding of potential breeding habitats, said Mr Ho, adding that the Ministry of Education has conducted fogging at Geylang Methodist primary and secondary schools, which are near the Aljunied Crescent cluster. The Land Transport Authority has also flushed the drains in the Kallang–Paya Lebar Expressway, he added.
continue reading here :
PM Lee: Best way to curb Zika is to stop mosquito breeding
Published 4 hours ago
Virus likely to have spread in Singapore, he says, as MOH confirms new cases
Jalelah Abu Baker
The spread of the Zika virus has widened to areas in the north and east, after single cases were found in Yishun, Upper Thomson and Simei. The Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday also revealed that a second pregnant woman has been diagnosed with the virus.
She has been linked to the original cluster in the Aljunied Crescent/Sims Drive area, where the other expectant mother lives.
The 31 new infections detected as of noon yesterday, and another five found through look-back testing, take the total number of locally transmitted Zika cases here to 151 - less than a week after the first case involving a Malaysian woman living in Aljunied was found.
In a Facebook post a few hours before MOH’s latest update last night, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said it was only a matter of time before the Aedes mosquito-borne virus reached Singapore.
“The cases so far have been in Aljunied and Bedok, but we must assume that Zika is elsewhere in Singapore too,” he wrote, adding that scientists are still learning about Zika “But we know that for most people, it is mild, and in fact often causes no symptoms at all. Pregnant women are at risk, as they are with other viral infections like dengue and chicken pox. Do take precautions and get tested if you show symptoms.
“Our best defence is to eradicate mosquitoes and destroy breeding habitats, all over Singapore. Do the five-step Mozzie Wipeout. Let’s all do our part to fight Zika, and dengue as well.”
continue reading here :
Zika outbreak: No real reason to delay having children, say doctors
Published 4 hours ago
Linette Lai
Olivia Ho
To wait or not - this question is on the minds of couples planning to have a child after the spread of Zika to several areas in Singapore.
The advice from doctors is that there is no real reason to delay, since it seems unlikely the virus will be eliminated from these shores.
Instead, those planning parenthood should accept that this is likely to be the “new normal” and take precautions against being bitten by the Aedes mosquito - which spreads Zika - and make sure their homes are mosquito-free.
“The transmission vector is a mosquito which is endemic in Singapore. You might want to delay pregnancy but when do you think Zika is going away?” said Dr Christopher Ng of GynaeMD Women’s and Rejuvenation Clinic.
The same point was made by infectious diseases specialist Leong Hoe Nam of Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital: “If we can’t clear the Zika cases in the next few weeks, chances are that it will stay rooted in Singapore. But life must go on.”
While a Zika infection is typically mild, with symptoms of fever and rash along with others such as sore eyes and joint ache, it can have serious effects on unborn children. Pregnant women who catch the disease may give birth to babies with unusually small heads - and this could lead to developmental problems.
continue reading here :
Zika outbreak: Pregnant MP visits residents, to show ’life can go on as normal'
Published 4 hours ago
Sun Xueling hands out insect repellent, posters on prevention
Olivia Ho
Pregnant women must take extra precautions in the light of the Zika virus outbreak in Singapore. But expectant mothers should also know that their lives need not be drastically altered, said Pasir-Ris Punggol GRC MP Sun Xueling.
And the 37-year-old, herself seven months pregnant, is aiming to show that by stepping up efforts to raise awareness of Zika prevention after a Punggol Way resident was diagnosed with the virus on Wednesday.
Smelling of citronella, a natural oil used as an insect repellent, Ms Sun went door to door at Block 259A, Punggol Way, yesterday to hand out insect repellent and posters on how to prevent the spread of the mosquito-borne disease.
Her team visited four other blocks. She will visit more blocks, as well as coffee shops, tomorrow.
Punggol is a young estate, and 36 per cent of the residents in Ms Sun’s ward are between 22 and 35 years old. She estimated that she meets an average of five expectant mothers a night.
“If they are concerned (about) living here, I want to be here to show concern for them,” she said.
“It’s important for them to see me walking around. I want them to know that life can go on as normal with Zika, so long as you take precautions.”
Zika is associated with microcephaly, a birth defect in which babies of women infected during pregnancy are born with abnormally small heads.
continue reading here :
Everyone needs to stamp out mosquito breeding
Salma Khalik
Senior Health Correspondent
Published 4 hours ago
Two pregnant women have been infected with the Zika virus. They are unlikely to be the last.
So it is not surprising that pregnant women around the country, as well as young couples planning to start a family, are greatly concerned.
International data reports that pregnant women who are infected with Zika have a 1 per cent to 13 per cent chance of having a baby suffering from microcephaly, a condition where the baby is born with an exceptionally small head.
Some young couples are seriously thinking of pushing back having a child until Zika is under control here.
Will that happen? Not likely.
Already, the infection has spread beyond the original outbreak area to other parts of Singapore. More cases around the island will probably surface, especially with doctors now on high alert to Zika symptoms.
In backtracking symptomatic cases since the first local transmission was revealed last Saturday, the Ministry of Health found one person who had the viral infection as far back as July.
continue reading here :
Sales of insect repellents spike in Bedok after Zika cases confirmed there
By
Amanda Lee
[email protected]
.
Published: 10:05 PM, September 1, 2016
Updated: 12:00 AM, September 2, 2016
SINGAPORE — Sales of insect repellent in the Bedok area have spiked in the wake of news that Zika infections had reached Bedok North Avenue 3, as the area’s Member of Parliament Cheryl Chan made her rounds of the estate on Thursday (Sept 1) to advise and offer reassurance to residents.
Shops selling household goods in the area, such as those at nearby Bedok North Street 1, said they have seen a huge increase in people buying mosquito repellent.
Sales assistant Zhao Zhi Chao said all 50 to 60 bottles of repellent as well as patches in his shop have been sold out.
“A lot of young people and students came to buy today, by 4pm everything was sold out,” said the 28-year-old. “Usually, we take one to two weeks to sell that same amount of products.”
Ms Chan, speaking to reporters on Thursday evening before she embarked on house visits, said residents had been asking questions about Zika since Saturday, when the authorities first confirmed that there was a locally transmitted case. Among those who wrote in to Ms Chan were five pregnant women. “They asked what would we do if it happens here,” said Ms Chan. “So my main point to them is we will do the same standard measures for vector control.”
Noting that residents were worried and uncertain, she added: “The main thing is managing the situation and keeping them calm and also telling them facts and some of the things they hear because some people just listen to different sources of information.”
During her house visits, Ms Chan gave the residents bottles of mosquito and insect repellent, and leaflets containing information about Zika and the five-step mozzie wipeout to get rid of breeding sites.
Meanwhile, supermarket and convenience store chains said the spike in sales of mosquito and insect repellent is continuing.
continue reading here :
Anxious mums-to-be take steps to avoid being infected
No guarantee of microcephaly among expectant mothers infected with virus, says doctor
By
Siau Ming En
Published: 11:10 PM, September 1, 2016
Updated: 12:50 AM, September 2, 2016
SINGAPORE — To protect her unborn child, Ms Chan S H, who is eight weeks’ pregnant, is putting as much distance as possible between herself and the infection clusters.
Already, the 31-year-old researcher moved out of her new home on Joo Seng Road and into her parents’ home in Toa Payoh when the Zika virus hit Aljunied Crescent and Sims Drive, which were just a few bus stops away from Joo Seng.
After Wednesday’s (Aug 31) reports that one Zika patient was living on Joo Seng Road, Ms Chan and her husband decided to move even further to Choa Chu Kang to stay with her husband’s parents until the situation stabilises.
The first-time mum-to-be told TODAY: “When news first broke about Zika, we were already contemplating whether we should continue living at Joo Seng. This is so scary. We haven’t even really had time to enjoy our new house properly.”
While Ms Chan has made the move to temporarily relocate, another expectant mother is trying to go about life as usual.
Ms Felicia Goh, 32, a church pastor who is expecting a pair of twins in December, admitted that the news of the Zika cases in her work area did cause “slight alarm”, but she had already made prior arrangements to work from home because of her pregnancy. “The best I am doing now is to ensure (there are) no breeding grounds in my home, that I stay indoors and go about life as usual.”
Ms Goh, who already has one child, said that she has taken extra precautions such as cancelling outdoor activities with her family. “I see fogging done regularly (at my) condo and work place, so I am assured that they and the Government are doing what they can to contain the situation.”
continue reading here :
NTUC FairPrice in talks to bring in more anti-mosquito items
Published 2 hours ago
Ng Huiwen
SINGAPORE - Mosquito repellent products are out of stock for the time being at supermarket chain NTUC FairPrice amid the outbreak of the Zika virus, but the chain is in talks “with a wide range of suppliers” to bring in more supplies.
Its chief executive officer Seah Kian Peng told reporters on Friday (Sept2): “We understand the anxiety of the spread of Zika… The natural and human behaviour is to stock up, and the surge in demand has caused a temporary out of stock situation at our outlets.”
But Mr Seah reassured consumers that the supermarket is working closely with suppliers to bring in more stocks and prices would remain stable, though he declined to further details of the timeline. He added: “Obviously, it will take some time.”
He has urged the public to buy only what is necessary.
“When we bring in the stocks, don’t rush. We will continue to bring stocks in regularly but if all of us buy 10 times more than what we need, no matter how much we bring in, it’s going to be sold out very quickly,” he said at an event to announce a pilot scheme to have supermarket staff educate consumers about returning trolleys.
In response to media queries on Wednesday (Aug31), a FairPrice spokesman said that it has seen a two-fold increase in the sale of repellent sprays, patches and insecticides.
Similarly, at Unity Pharmacy, the demand for these items has increased by three times at its 59 outlets here over the past few days.
continue reading here :
Zika outbreak will not sting Singapore’s economy: Analysts
By Tang See Kit, Channel NewsAsia
Posted 02 Sep 2016 18:45
Updated 02 Sep 2016 18:50
SINGAPORE: While startlingly swift, the outbreak of the Zika virus in Singapore is unlikely to create additional stress for the economy, which is already seeing growth faltering amid global headwinds, economists told Channel NewsAsia.
Since the first locally-transmitted Zika infection was confirmed last Saturday (Aug 27), dozens of newly-reported cases took the total number of people diagnosed with Zika to 151 as of Thursday.
Government agencies have since stepped up mosquito control efforts in high-risk clusters such as Aljunied and Bedok to curb the spread of the virus. While the recent spate of Zika infections has reminded many of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in Singapore more than a decade ago, the economic impact of the latest mosquito-borne virus will likely be nowhere near, economists said.
continue reading here :
Cover up, stay in: Singaporeans wary as Zika spreads
Posted 02 Sep 2016 19:35
Updated 02 Sep 2016 19:47
SINGAPORE: Many of Singapore’s five million people are covering up and staying indoors to avoid mosquito bites as health experts warned that the outbreak of the Zika virus in the tropical city-state would be difficult to contain.
One of the world’s leading financial hubs, Singapore is the only Asian country with active transmission of the mosquito-borne virus, which generally causes mild symptoms but can lead to serious birth defects in pregnant women.
Authorities say they have found over 150 cases since the first locally contracted infection was reported a week ago, and with the virus spreading beyond the cluster where it was initially detected, more people are taking precautions.
“I’m not going to let her go outside much until Zika dies down,” said Nat Bumatay, a self-employed mother, of her six-year-old daughter Sunshine. “Usually during short holidays, we go outside to the parks, go cycling, but now I will refrain.”
A warm, tropical climate, forested areas and a network of public parks make outdoor activities popular across Singapore, especially during school holidays like the ten-day break that began on Friday.
continue reading here :