Singapore to review policy to isolate Zika suspects

Singapore's Ministry of Health (MOH) is reviewing the practice of isolating potential Zika-infected patients, a senior official said on Sunday.

The ministry is considering letting suspected Zika-infected patients rest at home while their blood and urine samples are tested, Xinhua news agency quoted Minister of State for Environment and Water Resources and Health Amy Khor Lean Suan as saying.

The ministry is also considering sending confirmed cases home to recuperate, but the infected persons are advised to take precautions to prevent themselves from getting bitten by mosquitoes, Khor said while attending a community outreach event in western Singapore on Sunday morning.

The suspects are currently isolated at Communicable Disease Centre as they wait for the test results, while those found to be Zika-positive are isolated in hospitals.

Khor explained that isolating the infected may not be effective. She said Zika-positive patients admitted to hospitals generally have very mild symptoms, and they are discharged within one to two days with negative test results.

Singapore confirmed 26 new cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection as of Saturday, according to a joint statement released by MOH and National Environment Agency.

The update brought the total number of Zika infections in Singapore to 215 since the first locally transmitted case was reported on August 27.