ID :
337443
Fri, 08/08/2014 - 07:07
Auther :

Ebola Outbreak Poses Low Public Health Risk To Singapore, Says MOH

BY: TENGKU NOOR SHAMSIAH ABDULLAH SINGAPORE, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- While the situation remains fluid, the Ministry of Health (MOH) says the Ebola outbreak in West Africa poses a low public health risk to Singapore. It said this was because person-to-person transmission resulted from direct contact with bodily fluids of those infected, and the current outbreak was limited to West Africa, and travel connectivity between Singapore and West Africa was low. In a statement, MOH said it had been closely monitoring the Ebola situation in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria in West Africa, and noted the recent developments and escalation of cases. Prior to overseas travel, MOH encourages members of the public to refer to the MOH web page on Ebola for the latest Health Advisory. They should consider postponing travel to affected areas if it is non-essential. MOH said it continued to maintain close contact with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its overseas counterparts to monitor the situation closely and ensure that public health was safeguarded. "In our globalised world, we can never completely rule out the possibility of an imported case, despite the low risk of spread to Singapore. "Hence, all hospitals, clinics and doctors have been alerted to stay vigilant against possible suspect cases. Our public hospitals also have in place appropriate infection control measures," MOH said. MOH said measures are already in place to carry out contact tracing and quarantine all close contacts, if there is a case in Singapore. -- BERNAMA

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