1) Can a person get Zika many times, or will he be immune after getting infected once?
Professor Leo Yee Sin, a senior infectious diseases consultant at the Communicable Disease Centre stated that one infection of Zika should confer life-time immunity against the disease.
2) Where can I get tested for Zika?
There are currently no home kits that can be used to diagnose Zika. Both urine and blood have to be tested in a laboratory. Those who have no symptoms but still wish to get tested can get it done at hospitals under the Parkway Group in Singapore, Gleneagles Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital and Parkway East Hospital. The test costs about S$500 and takes between 24 and 72 hours.
3) How does Zika affect pregnant women?
The real danger comes when a pregnant woman is infected with Zika. The virus will circulate in the blood stream, go through the placenta and pass on to the baby. This, unfortunately, causes microcephaly.
4) What is microcephaly and how does it affect the child?
A recent study suggests that the estimated risk of microcephaly associated with infection during pregnancy is less than 13%. The majority of pregnant women who have been infected with Zika give birth to perfectly normal babies.
It is a condition in which the infant’s circumference of the head is significantly smaller than the heads of other babies of the same age and sex, usually due to incomplete brain development. Microcephaly may be present at birth, or could develop during the first few years of life. According to Ministry of Health (MOH) Singapore, a positive Zika test does not mean that the foetus is harmed or infected.
5) Should all pregnant women check to see if they have been infected with Zika, even if they do not get symptoms?
No, because currently, the only reliable test available for Zika is the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test which looks for genetic material of the virus in blood or urine. However, RT-PCR test is only able to detect Zika infection in blood within 5-7 days of onset of symptoms and in urine within 14 days of onset. Therefore, the time window in which a pregnant woman can be tested using RT-PCR is very short.
At present, there is no reliable serological test (which looks for antibodies in the blood) for Zika.
6) What can I do to prevent Zika infection?
The following precaution measures can be taken to prevent mosquito bites:
- Cover arms and legs by wearing long-sleeved shirts / pants when heading outdoors
- Sleep under mosquito nets or in rooms with mesh wire nets
- Apply insect repellent
- Prevent Aedes mosquito breeding