Dubai free of Zika virus mosquito

dubai — The Dubai Municipality has confirmed that the mosquito that carries Zika virus doesn’t exist in the UAE, and it has kept a close watch on the news circulated by media outlets and social networking websites about the outbreak and spread on the virus, as well as cases detected in different parts of the world.

Pursuant to the directives of the Dubai Municipality and its role in maintaining public hygiene in the emirate, the Pest Control Section of the Public Health Services Department formed an emergency team with the aim of following up and taking precautionary measures, which included collecting and analysing information about the disease and the species of the mosquito that transmit the virus before comparing them with the database of survey and surveillance over the species of mosquitoes in Dubai.

Quoting the database of the results of survey and control of the species of mosquitoes in the emirate and rates of spreading in Dubai, Hisham Abdul Rahman Al Yahya, head of the pests control section emphasised that Dubai is void of the mosquitoes transmitting the virus, which is scientifically known as Aedes aegypti, which originated in Africa and spread in all equatorial areas.

The mosquito also carries the virus that causes dengue fever and yellow fever.

About one in five people infected with Zika virus becomes ill (i.e., develop Zika). The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes). Other common symptoms include muscle pain and headache, he said in a Press release.