Govt to bear Zika virus treatment cost

Staff Correspondent: Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammad Nasim has announced that if anyone is detected with Zika virus, the government will bear the cost of their treatment.

The minister announced this at a press conference on ‘Zika virus and Bangladesh perspective’ at the Secretariat on Tuesday.

“Though there is no risk of spreading Zika virus in the country, the government is alert in this regard and we have taken all necessary steps to control the spread of the Zika virus”, he said.

As the spread of the virus has affected many of the areas of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands amid a global alert issued by the World Health Organization, the health minister assured that the government would do everything to stop intrusion of the virus.

“The government has already set up digital scanning machines at every entry points of the country to test every person who comes from Zika virus-affected countries,’ he said.

Professor Dr Din Mohammad Nurul Haque, Director General of Health Directorate, was also present at the press conference.

Recently, the World Health Organisation urged the regional countries, including Bangladesh, to strengthen surveillance and take preventive measures against the Zika virus disease.

The WHO declared the Zika virus disease reported in the Americas region as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

The virus, first discovered in Uganda in 1947, is spread through bites from Aedes aegypti mosquito, the vector for dengue that infected higher number of people in Delhi and Dhaka last year.  

The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis. The illness is usually mild with the symptoms lasting a week. There is no vaccine for Zika virus disease.

risingbd/Dhaka/Feb 09, 2016/Shafiq/Mukul