Zika virus no cause for panic, says minister

THURSDAY MARCH 10 2016 SOUTHAfrica is pulling out all the stops to prevent the Zika virus from entering the country and Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi is reassuring people that the virus is unlikely to come our way.

Not only were South African mosquitoes incapable of spreading the virus, but tight surveillance of port entries made it almost impossible for the Zika vector to be imported into the country, he said.

Addressing the portfolio committee on health in Parliament yesterday, Motsoaledi said as a result of the country’s rigid surveillance there was no need to panic. Not only was the Zika virus self-limiting – meaning it could not be spread from one person to another – measures such as the disinfection of planes and ships when they visit affected countries had contained it so far.

The outbreak of Zika has caused panic around the world, with the World Health Organisation cautioning it is “spreading explosively”.

Last month, the organisation said the virus outbreak “meets the conditions for a public health emergency of international concern”.

The virus, borne by mosquitoes, causes mild flu-like symptoms and rashes in some infected people and there is no known cure.

Although the virus existed for decades in equatorial zones in Asia and Africa, last year it showed up in South America, where it infected more than a million people. But most concerning it has been linked to microcephaly – a condition in which babies are born with a small head and brains. Affected babies usually have reduced life expectancy.

In South Africa there has been only one case of Zika – that of a Colombian businessman who was visiting the country. He has been cured.

Motsoaledi said the real threat was malaria. He said a significant number of South Africans from northern regions, such as Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, still died from it. “This Zika virus has not given me sleepless nights… the only thing that has given me sleepless nights is malaria. It is a killer in SA. We don’t have the mosquito capable of transmitting Zika virus.”

Motsoaledi said the Zika virus had existed in Uganda since 1947. He said it was not a killer.

He said the biggest concern was pregnant women because the virus could affect the foetus. He warned pregnant women that if they had to travel, to ensure they were not bitten by a mosquito.

He also allayed fears about the outbreak of typhoid in the country. Motsoaledi said the outbreak was almost insignificant when compared with the number of cases in the country about 20 years ago. – Sipokazi Fokazi