Gov’t says Filipinos should stay alert but calm amid Zika virus

This 2006 photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host. AP FILE PHOTO

Malacañang on Monday allayed fears of a Zika outbreak after an American woman who visited the Philippines tested positive for the virus.

“Secretary (Janette) Garin has pointed out this is a single case and that there is no epidemic and no outbreak,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a text message.

READ: American tested positive for Zika virus while in PH—DOH

“Most importantly, the DOH (Department of Health) is prepared in terms of detection, isolation and treatment of those who could possibly be infected by the virus,” he added. “Hence, the public should stay alert, informed and calm.”

Health Secretary Garin earlier said that the woman was not pregnant. Such is amid the linking of the Zika virus to a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) and microcephaly, a severe brain defect in infants.

The virus infection was detected when the woman, who visited parts of Luzon, returned to the United States. She reportedly experienced fever, rashes, conjunctivitis (pink eye) and joint and muscle pain.

It is the second known case of Zika virus in the Philippines. The first patient in 2012 was a 15-year-old boy from Cebu who had never been out of the country.

READ: Zika virus detected in PH

The Zika virus is acquired from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is also responsible for dengue fever.

There is no specific treatment or vaccine yet against the Zika virus, which was first recorded in Africa.

The Philippines is among the countries that are classified by the World Health Organization as those with reported or indication of Zika virus transmission but without reports of GBS and microcephaly. RAM