It is also one of Asia's cleanest cities but has a chronic problem with dengue fever, which is spread by the same Aedes mosquito that carries the Zika virus. The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has caused explosive outbreaks in the Americas and the Caribbean since late last year, poses a particular risk to pregnant women because it can cause microcephaly, a severe birth defect in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains. It has been linked in Brazil to more than 1,800 cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect where babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains. The action comes ahead of a World Health Organization emergency meeting prompted by an outbreak of Zika in Singapore, which also led to travel warnings against the country being issued by nations such as Australia, Taiwan and the US. WHO has placed Thailand among countries with scattered Zika infection which also include Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore, said Dr Amnuay, adding that Zika infection which used to affect 16 provinces has now reduced to six provinces without any new cases. The majority of those infected with Zika in Singapore were foreign workers, but the government has not disclosed their nationalities. Authorities inspected thousands of homes in seven parts of Singapore, including five foreign worker dormitories, spraying insecticide and removing potential mosquito breeding habitats.
Australia, South Korea and Taiwan issue travel advisories concerning Singapore after cases of Zika virus infection in the city-state passes 50.