Malaysia geared up for possible Zika cases

Malaysian authorities have enhanced Zika monitoring efforts in preparation for possible locally-transmitted cases of the mosquito-borne disease, after Singapore confirmed its first such case in the weekend.

At a press conference on Monday, Malaysia's health minister Dr. S. Subramaniam said since 2015, they have screened more than three million visitors at international gateways and have conducted more than 780 blood samples tests without detecting Zika, according to a report run by Bernama, Malaysia's state news agency.

According to the minister, medical staff have been deployed at the two main entrances in the southern Johor State to take immediate action if any visitors coming from Singapore show signs of Zika infection.

But he also said such measures may not be enough to prevent the spread of disease due to a large number of people commuting from Singapore to Malaysia.

Considering the disease has already been detected in neighboring countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore, it will just be a matter of time for Malaysia to detect the disease, said another official at the press conference.

A statement from the health ministry noted Malaysia's chance of detecting the disease, since Malaysia also has the Aedes mosquitoes, which were found to carry the Zika virus in some countries. Enditem