ZikaBernama said Malaysia's health authority has been urged to form a ministerial-level medical bio-ethics advisory board to deal with the issue on termination of pregnancies for women infected by the Zika virus, Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (IMAM) deputy president Dr Jamali Wagiman said.In Asean countries, Singapore has reported a total of 318 locally transmitted Zika cases, while Thailand earlier reported a total of 97 cases nationwide. As a result, BMA has trained personnel for rapid-response mobile units to tackle Zika outbreaks in the city while launching a public-education campaign to urge people to closely monitor and report potential infections in their neighbourboods.Hospitals and healthcare clinics are equipped to cope with a potential outbreak, authorities said. In the event of infections, BMA authorities will put patients' residences and workplaces in a 100-metre surveillance zone. In addition, potential breeding areas for mosquitoes will have to be eradicated within five days and affected areas controlled within 14 days. People who live or work in proximity to infected people will have their conditions monitored for at least 14 days, while pregnant women will have to follow strict precautionary guidelines to protect themselves and their unborn babies by avoiding mosquito bites.BMA said its mobile units would ensure breeding areas of mosquitoes would be removed quickly to ensure that the virus is not spread further.

Source: The Nation Bangkok September 11, 2016 17:03 UTC