THE Health department said Wednesday the second case of Zika infection in Metro Manila is a resident of Antipolo City, which was previously not in the list of areas with confirmed cases of Zika.
That case is among the three new cases of local Zika virus infection.
“We now have a total of 15 confirmed cases of Zika virus out of 264 suspected cases reported nationwide from January 1 to October 4, 2016,” Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell-Ubial said.
The Zika disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes.
People with Zika virus disease can have symptoms including mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. These symptoms normally last for two to seven days.
Pregnant women infected with the virus are in danger of delivering children with microcephaly, a condition characterized by an abnormal smallness of the head, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development.
A 22-year-old woman from Cebu, who is 19 weeks pregnant with her first child, is among the 12 Zika cases that have been detected across the country so far this year.
Ubial said out of the 15 confirmed Zika cases, 12 were from Iloilo, one from Cebu, one from Muntinlupa City and one from Antipolo City.
She said all those infected acquired the virus through mosquito bites but did not have a history of travel to an affected country a month before the onset of the illness.
She said the Zika cases were confirmed by the tests conducted by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
She asked the public to destroy mosquito-breeding places, use insect repellent and wear condoms during sex.
“This is a global concern. While we do not want people to panic, we should not be complacent,” Ubial said.
