Singapore wages war on Zika-bearing mosquitoes

SINGAPORE — Singapore on Monday sent teams armed with protective suits, fogging machines and insecticide to wage war on mosquitoes after the discovery of dozens of Zika infections sparked alarm in the city-state. Inspectors from the National Environment Agency checking for mosquito breeding sites visited homes in the suburban district where 41 cases — mostly foreign workers at a condominium construction project — were reported at the weekend. Nearly all have recovered but five more suspected cases of Zika virus infection were reported Monday by a clinic, local media said. The five, who include foreign workers, were undergoing further tests at the Communicable Diseases Centre. Singapore, despite the highest health care standards in Southeast Asia, is a densely populated tropical island with frequent rain. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant water that collects in construction areas, open space and homes. It is also one of Asia’s cleanest cities but has a chronic problem with dengue fever, which is spread by the same Aedes mosquito that carries the Zika virus. Zika causes only mild symptoms for most people, such as fever and a rash, and has been detected in 58 countries particularly Brazil. But in pregnant women, it can cause microcephaly, a deformation in which babies are born with abnormally small brains and heads. — AFP