2016 First Case of Zika Virus Confirmed in The Philippines

By Sky Selrach - 06 Sep '16 09:15AM

The dreaded Zika virus has made its way to the Philippines. According to reports, the symptoms of the virus were noted in a 45-year old woman hailing from Iloilo of the central Philippines. This is the first case of the virus this 2016.

Spokesman of the health industry, Dr. Eric Tayag confirmed the reports of the first Zika virus case this year. Dr. Tayag adds that the virus was likely to be "locally transmitted" as the woman had no history of travel to affected countries in the past two weeks. Personal information about the woman has not been disclosed. Reports add that she is not pregnant and is currently recovering at home.

This is not the first time Zika virus has made its way to the country. In 2012, a teenage boy from Cebu had reportedly contracted Zika. An additional four cases were reported, where the victims of the virus were foreigners.

Unlike the Ebola virus affecting most of Africa, Zika virus has affected Latin America and the Caribbean. The hardest hit has been reported in Brazil. Aside from the Asian country Philippines, the Zika outbreak is also noted in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

More than 240 cases of the Zika virus have been reported in Singapore, whereas Malaysia has only one case. Despite the growing number of cases of the Zika virus in Singapore, the health ministry claims they would no longer isolate individuals who test positive of Zika.

"Over time, we expect Zika cases to emerge in more areas given the presence of the Aedes mosquitoes here. As the cases of Zika in Singapore have been mild so far, confirmed cases will no longer need to be hospitalised unless medically indicated," stated the report.

The Zika virus causes microcephaly, which is a severe birth defect wherein the brain and head are undersized, in pregnant women. Other brain abnormalities are also caused by the virus. Adults who have contracted the virus are said to show symptoms of Guillain-Barre and other neurological disorders. Currently, there is no treatment or vaccine for Zika.