Sept 19 (NIA) – Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry, on Monday, advised pregnant women not to travel to Zika affected countries as the disease was raging in Asia.
Director of Medical Services from the Health Ministry, Dr. Palitha Mahipala said the Zika virus was spreading in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Brazil and South America and he informed passengers to meet a doctor at the airport medical office, if they were suffering from a fever, when returning back to the island country.
Sri Lanka’s main international airport and the Colombo Port have already been placed on high alert to prevent the spread of the Zika virus and Chikungunya, the government said on Sunday.
“The airport’s health desks have been told to caution passengers travelling to the affected countries,” Quarantine Director, Dr Palitha Karunaperuma said.
The Sri Lankan government said that the island nation faced a threat from the two deadly diseases and added that state hospitals were being geared to cope with it.
Increasing cases of Zika and Chikungunya have been reported from many Asian countries including Singapore, India and Thailand and airlines operating in these countries have been informed to exercise caution and report to health authorities if there were any sick passengers.