Latest Australian Zika test results "inconclusive": health authorities

Australian health authorities are yet to establish whether a man who recently returned from Tonga was infected with the Zika virus due to inconclusive test results, curbing a local outbreak however vector measures continue.

The Asia-Pacific region has been on high alert for the mosquito-borne virus following the declaration of a global emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) in early February, amid the current Zika outbreak in Central and South America.

Authorities feared another potential outbreak after a man from north Queensland state port city Townsville became ill after returning from Tonga, and stepped up vector control measures following last week's scare in Rockhampton.

"The resident was only in Townsville for a couple of days while unwell, has now recovered and is no longer infectious," a spokesperson for the Queensland health department told Xinhua on Tuesday.

"This means the chances of a disease being established in the mosquito that transmits dengue and Zika is low."

Australian authorities aren't taking chances however, increasing vector control measures to eradicate the transmitting Aedes aegypti mosquito in the area.

It's the second outbreak scare for Queensland state as the carrying mosquitoes were located nearby a man who tested positive for Zika virus after returning from South America.

The latest detection brings the state's tally to nine this year, and 19th since 2014 though no local transmission has occurred. Seven cases have been found in New South Wales state to the south.

The Zika virus, already linked to severe birth defects, has also been associated with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) -- a severe neurological disorder according to a new French research released in the medical journal The Lancet on Tuesday.

Caution should be taken on the link as data remains scarce and questions over the type of Zika virus in the current outbreak remain unanswered, University of Western Australia Professor of Biomedical engineering David Smith said in a statement.

"Suffice to say Zika virus can be added to our list of viruses that can cause Guillain-Barre syndrome, and investigation of these cases should include tests for Zika when there is a possibility of infection by that virus," Smith said.

"Whether Zika will be proven to pose a greater threat in causing Guillain-Barre syndrome than its various flavivirus cousins remains to be determined."

Though the WHO have declared the Zika virus to be a global epidemic, vaccine manufacturers have said a vaccine for widescale public use is months, if not years away.

Current efforts to combat Zika are focused on protecting people from being bitten and on eradicating mosquitoes, a tough task for many parts of the poverty-stricken Pacific islands that have been saving water from the El Nino enforced drought, inadvertently providing a breeding ground for the disease-spreading insect.

Australian authorities are concerned the virus could then travel across the Torres Strait into the north of Australia. However they stress current biosecurity controls are working, as an outbreak is only likely to occur from returned travellers and not travelling mosquitoes. Endit