Pacific / Papua New Guinea

PNG authorities say no Zika outbreak in country

20:25 pm on 17 March 2016

The Papua New Guinea Department of Health is calling on people to take care to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes amid the regional concerns over Zika.

The secretary, Pascoe Kase, also said while there were some Zika cases there was no Zika virus outbreak in PNG.

Mr Kase said there had been several Zika-positive cases from multiple sites dating back to May of last year and all recovered without complications.

The secretary says there have also been some cases of dengue.

He says Zika is generally a mild illness with similarities to other diseases such as malaria and dengue but there is no outbreak in PNG.

The secretary says the increase in mosquito-borne diseases can be attributed to recent rain.

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