Disease

Zika Virus - Singapore

In a follow-up to the rapidly spreading Zika virus outbreak in Singapore, the Ministry of Health has reported an additional 26 new confirmed cases of locally transmitted Zika virus infection on Saturday. This brings the outbreak total to 215 cases.

Sequencing analysis of the zika virus found that the virus belongs to the Asian lineage and likely evolved from the strain that was already circulating in Southeast Asia. The virus from these two patients was not imported from South America.

Fresh Lassa Fever Cases in Nigeria

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has confirmed five cases of Lassa Fever in Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau and Rivers states.

As a result of increasing number of cases, the NCDC is issuing an advisory to all states reminding them of the steps they have to take to prepare and respond to cases of Lassa fever and other hemorrhagic fevers, as well as the resources that they can access for this.

Cholera in DR Congo - Update

Over 500 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo have been killed by a cholera outbreak since the beginning of the year, while aid agencies are stepping up efforts in the Central African Republic in response to a recent cholera outbreak to prevent the disease from spreading that has claimed 150 lives.

Cholera is endemic in DRC, but usually only affects the east of the country. This time however, the acute diarrhoeal infection has spread west along the Congo river and has reached Kinshasa for the first time in five years. Some 18 000 have been reported to be infected across the country.