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 All the cases were in or near the Aljunied area in the southeast of
the city-state, and most were foreign workers from a nearby
construction site owned by GuocoLand, where testing for the virus is
now complete, the health ministry said in a statement.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) has inspected foreign workers'
dormitories as well as thousands of other premises in the area and
in six other parts of the island.
Singapore, a major regional financial center and busy transit hub,
which maintains a constant vigil against the mosquito-borne dengue
virus, reported its first Zika case in May, imported by a
middle-aged man who had been to Brazil.
On Saturday, the health ministry confirmed a first
locally-transmitted case, with the tally jumping to 41 a day later
amid warnings of more likely positive cases.
One of the cases discovered on Sunday involved a Singaporean man who
works at the GuocoLand site but who lives outside the Aljunied area.
The NEA inspected more than 900 premises around his home on Monday.
"The NEA went to every house, checked the kitchen and bathroom. They
gave us a small bottle of insect repellent, but we just went to get
a big bottle today," said 36-year-old local resident Tommy Fan. "I'm
a little worried since my wife is trying to conceive. Zika seems to
... (spread) faster than dengue."
One local pharmacy worker said she ran out of mosquito repellent,
and was concerned about delays in getting fresh supplies.
Workers wearing fumigation masks moved methodically through
high-rise public housing estates, inspecting plant pots and spraying
insecticide via thermal fogging machines.
"I FEEL AFRAID"
The Zika virus, carried by mosquitoes, was detected in Brazil last
year and has since spread across the Americas.
It poses a risk to pregnant women because it can cause severe birth
defects. It has been linked in Brazil to more than 1,600 cases of
microcephaly, where babies are born with abnormally small heads and
brains.
The World Health Organization said on Sunday it did not know "which
lineage of Zika is circulating" in Singapore or "what the level of
population immunity is to this lineage in Asia."
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Singapore's health ministry said around three dozen mosquito
breeding habitats had been destroyed so far in the main Aljunied
cluster.
"I feel afraid," said Ng Kai Yee, an 18-year-old female student who
lives near the outbreak area. "I heard quite a lot about how harmful
Zika virus is to girls, especially pregnant women."
Authorities have urged those living and working in the risk areas,
especially pregnant women, to monitor their health and seek medical
attention if they are unwell.
Of the 41 people confirmed on Sunday to have been infected, 34 have
fully recovered. Only the first case reported was a woman.
Regional health experts said the Zika virus is likely to be
significantly under-reported across tropical Southeast Asia as local
health authorities fail to conduct adequate screening.
Malaysia and Indonesia have stepped up protective measures following
the Singapore outbreak, intensifying checks on people arriving from
Singapore and introducing thermal scanners at airports and border
checkpoints.
(Reporting by Nicole Nee and Imogen Braddick, with additional
reporting by Marius Zaharia, Edgar Su and Christophe Van Der Perre;
Writing by Marius Zaharia; Editing by Jane Wardell and Ian Geoghegan;
Graphic by Jessica Wang)
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