Authorities review practice of isolating Zika patients

SINGAPORE — The authorities are reviewing the practice of isolating Zika patients, as well as those awaiting their blood test results, in order to handle the situation sustainably, Senior Minister of State (Environment and Water Resources and Health) Amy Khor said yesterday.

The review comes amid a stabilisation in the number of new Zika cases: 27 announced yesterday, following 26 on Saturday, compared with 38 on Friday, bringing the total to 242. The Ministry of Health and the National Environment Agency also identified a new potential Zika cluster, in the Joo Seng Road area, in its latest update.

Of the two cases involving residents in the area, one was reported previously and the other has no known links to any existing cluster. The NEA will now carry out mosquito control operations and outreach efforts at Joo Seng Road.

And after a week of tackling Zika, the authorities are reviewing their strategy and the effectiveness of further containing the outbreak by isolating “Zika-positive patients who are generally well”, Dr Khor said at a Zika outreach event in Bukit Batok.

“From the past week’s experiences, the doctors have observed that all the patients who have been admitted to the hospital ... have very mild symptoms,” she added. “And (they were) discharged one to two days soon after their blood tested negative for the virus.”

Four in five Zika patients do not show symptoms, which means there are already Zika-infected individuals in the community who do not show symptoms. Dr Khor noted that dengue patients, too, are not warded unless their condition is very serious.

Likewise, the authorities are reviewing whether it is necessary to keep isolating suspected cases in the Communicable Diseases Centre.

It could be more convenient to have the general practitioners and polyclinic doctors send the blood and urine samples to public hospitals for testing while the suspected Zika patients wait for the results at home.

But this means that both Zika-infected patients and suspected cases must take the “necessary precautions”, such as applying insect repellent so that they do not get bitten by mosquitoes and transmit the disease, said Dr Khor. No timeline was given as to when the review will be completed; announcements will be made when there are concrete plans.

Meanwhile, the NEA is continuing with operations to control the Aedes mosquito population in Aljunied Crescent, Sims Drive, Kallang Way and Paya Lebar Way, clusters with links to 25 of the latest cases. As of Saturday, 62 breeding habitats — 36 in homes and 26 in common areas and other premises — have been destroyed.

The NEA is also continuing with such measures and outreach efforts in Bedok North Avenue, where 39 breeding habitats — 29 in homes and 10 in common areas and other premises — have been destroyed.

Grassroots organisations have also embarked on an islandwide outreach programme. Member of Parliament (East Coast) Maliki Osman, for example, led volunteers in Siglap yesterday to get residents to perform the five-step mozzie wipeout and help them identify Zika symptoms. Leaflets and insect repellent were distributed.

As some Zika cases were linked to nearby areas in Bedok North Avenue 3 and Harvey Crescent, Dr Maliki said there are plans to keep track of pregnant mothers in his ward so that they can be contacted as soon as possible if necessary. “We’re not raising an alarm ... just precautionary measures to make sure they’re reachable,” he added.