Nicolette Dirk
SOUTH Africa is most likely not at risk of the Zika virus, which was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) this week.
Yesterday, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said Zika was not found further south than Uganda.
NICD deputy director Professor Lucille Blumberg said there were no reports of people being infected with the virus in the country.
The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to the cause of Brazilian babies born with neurological damage and abnormally smaller heads. It is believed to be caused by their mothers being infected with Zika while pregnant.
Blumberg said that the recent Brazilian outbreak appeared to be associated with a lack of piped water water and storing water inside vats and pails.
“Even though the possibility of an infected traveller introducing Zika virus to South Africa obviously does exist, the short viraemic period (virus being present in blood) would lessen the chance of it being transferred to a susceptible mosquito. Physicians may encounter cases in returning travellers,” said Blumberg.
Blumberg said there was |a question as to why the virus spread to Indonesia and Brazil but not southern Africa. “We don’t have a definite answer, but believe that the reason is probably the same as for yellow fever and dengue viruses, which also don’t occur this far south.”
Testing for the Zika virus is available at the NICD and will be performed only on returning travellers with an illness compatible with Zika. The NICD will also test all pregnant women who travelled to areas with Zika outbreaks.
WHO director-general Margaret Chan said on Monday Zika is an “extraordinary event” and a public health threat to other parts of the world.
The Health Regulation Emergency Committee highlighted the importance of aggressive measures to reduce infection with Zika.