DOH: Philippines remains free of Zika

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines remains free of the Zika virus, but the public should remain vigilant, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

Lyndon Lee Suy, spokesman for the DOH, said a case of Zika virus was documented in Cebu City in 2012 but no other case has since been reported.

“We don’t want to be alarmist, but it is not enough that people become aware of what is happening. We should always be on guard because it’s happening in other countries and it can also happen here,” Lee Suy told reporters.

The World Health Organization (WHO) website describes the Zika virus as a mosquito-borne disease that was first detected among rhesus monkeys in Uganda in 1947.

In 1952, it was detected among humans in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.

In May 2015, Brazil reported its first case and the disease has since spread to 22 other countries and territories in the region.

Zika virus is similar to dengue as the disease is caused by infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Symptoms include mild fever, skin rash and conjunctivitis, which could last for two to seven days.

Zika virus has been associated with a steep increase in the birth of babies with abnormally small heads and in cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a poorly understood condition in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, sometimes resulting in paralysis.

WHO will convene an International Health Regulations Emergency Committee on Zika Virus on Monday to determine if the outbreak constitutes a “public health emergency of international concern.”   

Lee Suy said the best way to fight Zika virus is to observe personal hygiene and sanitation as well as eliminate possible breeding sites of mosquitoes.

“We have been advising the public to keep their surroundings clean. Get rid of anything that may collect water because mosquitoes could breed in them. We talk here of the same mosquitoes that can spread dengue,” he said.

Meanwhile, health authorities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) are on alert to prevent the entry of Zika virus.

Doctors at the NAIA said mosquito-carrying virus from Brazil could not reach airports and seaports in the country.

Brazil has no direct flight to the Philippines and passengers will have to take a connecting flight to able to land at the airport.  – With Rudy Santos, Roel Pareno