SINGAPORE: A day after the first Zika cluster reported this year was confirmed at Simon Place in Hougang, National Environment Agency (NEA) officers conducted thermal fogging in the housing estate.
On Wednesday (Mar 29), NEA confirmed that two members of a household in the estate were infected by the virus.
An NEA notice posted in the area stated that the agency will conduct thermal fogging of outdoor areas in the neighbourhood to get rid of adult mosquitoes which could spread the virus.
NEA officers were also seen going from door to door at about 9am informing residents that the fogging would start soon.
Aljunied GRC Member of Parliament (MP) Sylvia Lim spoke to reporters on Thursday morning during a visit to the area during NEA’s operations.
"Residents living in this area are quite used to clusters of mosquito-borne diseases - in the last few years, we've also had dengue outbreaks. So they are quite resilient, they generally know what to do and how to protect themselves," she said.
Besides thermal fogging of outdoor areas, NEA officers will also conduct low-volume misting in all homes, she said, urging residents to cooperate.
“I understand that in the past, some residents had been inspected a few times and there was a bit of fatigue on that. But you never know how things have changed, so please cooperate with the authorities,” she said.
“At the same time, we should remain calm and keep in perspective … and not overly panic over the situation.”
In an update on Thursday evening, NEA said it had inspected 234 of the 400 premises in the cluster. A total of 10 breeding habitats were found and destroyed, of which seven were from homes and three from common areas or other premises, said an NEA spokesperson.
CLINICS SAY NO FURTHER CASES DETECTED
General practitioners in the area that Channel NewsAsia spoke to on Thursday morning said none of their patients have shown any signs of Zika.
At Chiew Clinic in Simon Plaza, a short walk from Simon Place, no cases of the virus have been reported. The clinic said it is aware of the area being a cluster, but has not stepped up precautionary measures.
Down the road, Dr Chua Boon Ling at Simon Road Family Clinic also said that he has not detected any new Zika cases.
However, he noted that in the last two weeks, a patient came to see him with flu symptoms and returned a few days later with a high fever.
"With the Zika outbreak and where this patient lives near to the so-called cluster, it could possibly be (a Zika case) but that has to be tested to confirm," Dr Chua said, adding that he will follow up with the patient.
The clinic will also have patients undergo tests should they be suspected of carrying the virus, he said.
- CNA/mz
Sourced from Channel News Asia
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