New Portal for Zika Virus on Health Ministry’s Website
RIYADH: Arrangements are being made at the Ministry of Health to open a new portal for the Zika virus on its website.
Faisal Al-Zahrani, the ministry spokesman, said that the new portal will give adequate details and updates about the virus which has already affected Latin American countries.
“We hope to incorporate all relevant details about the virus so that readers can take the necessary precautions,” he noted.
Al-Zahrani said the ministry has already taken preventive measures against the virus. “We have instructed aviation authorities to spray disinfectant in aircraft that are likely to carry germs of passengers from endemic countries,” Al-Zahrani said, adding that the ministry is doing its best to fight this disease in the Kingdom.
He added that the ministry has taken the best preventive methods to keep the virus outside the Kingdom. “We have alerted the quarantine department at the Kingdom’s gateways — by land, sea and air — to monitor passengers who come into the Kingdom for such cases.”
The ministry is also coordinating with local authorities to take preventive measures in all parts of the Kingdom, especially in places which are home to mosquitoes.
On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Zika virus a public health emergency of international concern.
Noting that the signs and symptoms are similar to those of Rift Valley fever and dengue, Al-Zahrani said symptoms include fever, rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pains, malaise and headache.
WHO said Zika virus is an emerging mosquito-borne virus that was first identified in Uganda in 1947 in rhesus monkeys through a monitoring network of sylvatic yellow fever. It was subsequently identified in humans in 1952 in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.
Outbreaks of Zika virus disease have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.
MOH has identified countries that are affected by the virus including Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Suriname, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Venezuela, Panama, Martinique, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Guadeloupe, St. Martin, Guyana, Haiti, Bolivia and French Guiana.
The ministry urged all travelers from the Kingdom to the affected areas to take individual protective measures to prevent mosquito bites, indicating that travelers who have immune disorders or chronic illnesses are advised to seek medical advice before traveling. Pregnant women who are planning to travel to endemic areas should discuss their travel plans with their health providers to consider postponing their travel to these areas.
Al-Zahrani said the ministry has also directed its diplomatic missions abroad, especially in Latin America, of the need to take precautions against such travelers from affected countries. He also said there is less passenger traffic from the affected countries and no direct flights to the Kingdom.
As part of its awareness campaign, the Ministry of Health has already distributed pamphlets and educational literature on the virus and its preventive measures.
Zika virus outbreaks were reported for the first time from the Pacific in 2007 and 2013 (Yap and French Polynesia, respectively), and in 2015 from the Americas (Brazil and Colombia) and Africa (Cape Verde).
In addition, more than 13 countries in the Americas have reported sporadic Zika virus infections indicating rapid geographic expansion of the virus.