DOH confirms 2 more Zika cases in Iloilo City

ILOILO CITY—The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday confirmed two more cases of Zika virus infection.

The two cases were household members of a 45-year-old woman in Barangay Benedicto, Jaro District in Iloilo City who was earlier confirmed having been infected with the virus.

READ: DOH confirms 1st case of Zika infection in PH

The two cases were confirmed based on reports of the DOH Epidemiology Bureau, according to a statement of the DOH central office. They are the seventh and eighth Zika cases in the country and the second and third that were locally-transmitted.

The DOH in Western Visayas declined to provide additional information on the two cases other than those stated in the press statement issued by Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial.

Tests results from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Manila showed that the two household members were infected with the Zika virus.

Like dengue fever, Zika is a mosquito-borne infection caused by the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

It is transmitted through mosquito bites, sexual contact, blood transfusion, or by a pregnant woman to her fetus.

Infection during pregnancy can lead to serious birth defects, according to health authorities.

The two cases exhibited “mild skin rash not accompanied by other signs and symptoms unlike the first confirmed case who presented with skin rash, joint pains and red eyes,” according to the DOH statement.

The three infected residents of the Iloilo household had recovered from a “mild” infection and did not require hospitalization.

None of them were pregnant.

The DOH said the infection was confined “only within the affected household.” But it said health personnel would continue the monitoring of suspected cases for a month.

Health personnel who conducted the investigation on the village visited 88 households near the house of three infected residents.

They found containers which served as mosquito breeding sites and were “positive for larvae/pupae of Aedes aegypti, the principal mosquito vector for the Zika virus.”

Ubial directed a more intensive mosquito control campaign especially among local government units to stop the spread of the virus.

The main focus is the clean-up of potential breeding areas of mosquitoes including “targeted and pre-planned fogging to reduce adult mosquito density.”

The DOH also advised pregnant women and those who have potentials to be pregnant to visit their doctors for any illness during their pregnancy. JE/rga