Zika: Alert Without the Panic

The Zika virus is causing a stir around the world. Health Minister Nila Moeloek has issued a travel advisory on Latin American countries. The government recommends that Indonesians, especially women, refrain from unnecessary travel to nations affected by the Zika outbreak. Brazil, Bolivia, Puerto Rico and Suriname are on the watch list.

The minister is right to issue this cautionary note. Although there is no need for excessive panic, we should be very alert to the presence of Zika. The virus, which like dengue fever is spread by bites from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, seems to be more worrying than initially believed. Last year, more than a million people were infected in Brazil. The current outbreak led to the WHO declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on February 1.