‘State Health Dept still screening passengers at KIA for Zika virus’
SIBU: Screening is still being carried out on all international direct flights arriving at Kuching International Airport ( KIA) besides the handing- out of health alert cards ( HAC) to passengers and crew to keep out the Zika virus, state health director Dr Jamilah Hashim said.
She said these were among the measures taken to prevent the transmission of the Zika virus into the state.
Dr Jamilah also emphasised that the same steps taken to curb dengue needed to be beefed up to prevent the Zika virus.
She said this when asked if screening has been tightened at entry points into the state to keep out the disease, following reports of two new cases of the Zika virus in Singapore.
“Screenings are still being carried out for all international direct flights at KIA even though there were no cases reported before this.
Thermal scanners (to screen those with high temperature) are operating as usual at KIA for all international direct flights,” Dr Jamilah told The Borneo Post yesterday.
“We still distribute HAC to passengers and crew. The same steps taken for dengue need to be beefed up to prevent the Zika disease,” she added.
Meanwhile, according to Bernama, Malaysia has tightened health screenings at all entry points, especially in Johor, following reports of the two new Zika virus cases in Singapore.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya was reported as saying so far, there were no reports of the mosquitoborne viral infection involving Malaysians.
Dr Hilmi also said so far, there had been no new cases in Malaysia.
On Friday, Singapore confirmed two new cases of the Zika virus, bringing the total number of reported cases in the country to eight.
In September last year, a woman from Bandar Botanic, Klang in Selangor became the first Malaysian infected with Zika after visiting her daughter, who was also infected with the virus, in Singapore.
Meanwhile, key facts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that the Zika disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes.
People infected with Zika may have symptoms which include mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. These symptoms normally last for two to seven days.