Issuing a press statement on Tuesday, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO's South-East Asia regional director, has recommended countries to build capacity of their laboratories to detect the virus and strengthen 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," reads the statement. 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 in many populations of the region against the virus.
Dr Khetrapal Singh also urged countries to share information on suspected Zika virus infections to enable early detection and containment of any outbreak in the South-East Asia region.
The disease is strongly suspected to have a casual relation with clusters of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities. The UN body has declared the recent clusters of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities reported in the Americas region as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
In the region, the WHO is providing support to countries to step up surveillance and preventive measures against Zika virus.
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