Zika outbreak a concern but remain calm, says Amy Khor

SINGAPORE — The increase in the number of confirmed Zika cases is cause for concern, but the public should remain calm and go about their daily activities, said Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources and Health Amy Khor.  

Noting that cases are likely to continue to emerge, Dr Khor acknowledged that fighting Zika is challenging because of the high volume of people travelling in and out of Singapore, but the country has been able to manage the spread of dengue — which can have more serious symptoms than Zika — and chikungunya using the same mosquito population control strategies, which are being used for Zika now. 

“I know that Singaporeans understandably will become more concerned when we announce new cases, I want to take this opportunity to urge everyone, including pregnant women, to stay calm. Take the necessary precautions, then we can go on with our normal daily activities,” she said.

Dr Khor was speaking during a visit to Block 121 Paya Lebar Way on Wednesday (Aug 31) morning, where National Environment Agency ( NEA) operations were underway to clamp down on mosquito breeding. 

Since confirmed cases of Zika emerged at the Kallang Way and Paya Lebar Way areas on Tuesday — five who were newly diagnosed on Tuesday live or work in these areas — the NEA has begun inspecting premises and public spaces in these areas, and carrying out fogging and misting. About 60 per cent of more than 1,000 premises in both areas have been checked, said Dr Khor on Wednesday. 

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong visited the National Public Health Laboratory on Wednesday, where the blood and urine samples of suspect cases are tested, to thank the staff for their efforts.

Tests take about three hours to complete, and the results are sent back to the healthcare institutions where the patients are awaiting the results. “In all, it takes about half a day for patients to receive their results,” said the Ministry of Health, which shared pictures of the visit on its Facebook page. 

The clinics in areas linked to the cases of Zika said they have seen more queries from concerned residents, but some general practitioners also urged those who show symptoms not to hesitate to see a doctor, as part of  “social responsibility”. 

“There may be a group comprising people who are worried about being isolated if they test Zika-positive, or concerned about being thrown in the limelight ... But this is part of their social responsibility, so that should they be diagnosed (with Zika), necessary contact tracing can be carried out,” said Dr Lee Wee Chieh at LifeCare Medical Centre along Circuit Road, who has been receiving Zika-related queries since Monday. 

He added: “We shouldn’t overreact, but we also shouldn’t take the situation lightly lest the virus be inadvertently passed on to more vulnerable groups.”

Agreeing, Dr Lim Chien Chuan from Sims Drive Medical Clinic — which flagged the first tranche of locally transmitted Zika cases to be confirmed last weekend — urged residents not to dismiss the “mild symptoms” characteristic of the infection. 

“If they have all three symptoms, including a low grade fever, itchy rashes and joint pain, they should not hesitate to consult a doctor,” Dr Lim told TODAY, adding that the clinic has sent “fewer suspected cases” to the Communicable Diseases Centre over the past two days. 

Dr Chi Wei Ming, from the same clinic, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that the daily updates on newly confirmed cases would show whether Zika remains localised or has spread to other areas in Singapore. In the meantime, managing positive cases to prevent transmission and intensifying vector control are key.

“It is neither helpful nor productive to engage in finger-pointing or apportioning blame during this critical juncture. Through our interactions with the relevant authorities, we know that allegations of a cover up are baseless and unmerited,” Dr Chi said, noting it is impossible to identify Patient Zero or to trace the chain of transmission when the majority of infected persons (80 per cent) have mild symptoms, or may show none.