Suspected Zika case comes back negative
Myanmar continues to have had only one confirmed case of Zika virus after test results for dozens of suspected cases have all led to negatives. A six-year-old from Lanmadaw township was one of more than 50 patients exhibiting Zika-like symptoms who were tested by the Department of Public Health over the past month. Health officials thought the child may be the second Zika case in the country, but his test too came back negative last week. “The results of the child from Lanmadaw township are negative [for the Zika virus]. Of the 57 suspected cases so far in Myanmar, only one person has been found to have the virus,” said Dr Aung Thu of the Department of Public Health. Following the WHO designation of the Zika virus as a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern” in February this year, the Myanmar government has instructed township medical departments to make a concerted effort to identify potential Zika cases, while mosquito control efforts have been stepped up in urban areas.
