The World Health Organisation yesterday urged Bangladesh and its neighbouring countries to be on the watch for Zika virus disease and take preventive action.

“The Zika virus is of concern in the WHO South-East Asia Region as the Aedes aegyptii mosquito, responsible for its spread, is found in many areas and there is no evidence of immunity to the Zika virus in many populations of the Region,” said Regional Director Poonam Khetrapal Singh of WHO South-East Asia in a statement.

 The WHO South-East Region includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and East Timor.

In the past, sporadic Zika virus cases were reported from Thailand and Maldives, according to the statement.

The mosquito-borne disease, which spread mostly in the Americas in recent months, is strongly suspected to have a causal relation with clusters of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities.

The WHO has declared the Zika virus disease as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

The virus, first discovered in Uganda in 1947, spread through bites from Aedes aegypti mosquito, also the vector for dengue.  

The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis. The illness is usually mild with the symptoms lasting a week. There is no vaccine for the disease.

Poonam recommended countries to build capacity of their laboratories to detect the virus and step up surveillance for cases of fever and rash, neurological syndromes and birth defects.

“Countries should intensify their vector control program and prepare health services for managing Zika virus disease,” she noted. 

 All sectors that can assist should be engaged, and the public informed of the risks and preventive measures against Zika virus disease, said WHO.

People, read the statement, can protect themselves against mosquito bites by using insect repellent, wearing clothes and using physical barriers such as screens, closed doors and windows.

Everyone should help prevent breeding of mosquitoes by emptying containers that hold standing water in and around their houses, added the release.