Singapore Spots First Zika Cluster This Year At Simon Place

By Massita Ahmad SINGAPORE, March 30 (Bernama) -- Two cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection in Singapore have been confirmed at Simon Place, Hougang, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Wednesday. "Both cases are residents in the vicinity and from the same household," the agency said in its website. (This is the first Zika cluster spotted this year in the republic while the first case of locally transmitted Zika infection in Singapore was reported on Aug 27 last year) NEA said the Zika cluster was notified Tuesday, and vector control operations were being carried out in the vicinity. The agency said it had commenced vector control operations since yesterday afternoon, as well as outreach activities at the cluster. As of Wednesday, NEA has inspected about 120 premises out of about 400 premises in the Simon Place cluster to check for mosquito breeding, and also conducted ground checks in the vicinity. NEA said most people infected with the Zika virus did not develop symptoms, which heightened the risk of a Zika resurgence as it might take some time before a reintroduced Zika virus is detected. --BERNAMA