KUCHING, Sept 7 — Malaysia cannot stop the spread of Zika into the country as there are more than 200,000 Malaysians commuting daily from Johor to Singapore, according to the Health Ministry.

However, with two confirmed cases in Malaysia (Klang and Sabah), its deputy director-general (Public Health) Datuk Dr Lokman Hakim Sulaiman said it was trying its best to control the mosquito-borne disease from becoming an epidemic.

He said in Malaysia, the health authority was doing the screening and diagnosing on those suspected of having Zika symptoms but were no longer in Singapore, with the disease already at the epidemic stage there.

"We in Malaysia can still control the disease from spreading further provided Malaysians keep their compounds clean and free from Aedes mosquito breeding grounds.”

Dr Lokman said the local councils should also play their role well in keeping the places under their jurisdiction clean and free from Aedes breeding grounds.

He was speaking at a press conference after the opening of the 21st Joint Malaysia-Singapore Nursing Conference by Sarawak Minister of Welfare, Women and Community Development, Datuk Fatimah Abdullah, here, today.

Dr Lokman said the local councils needed to ensure that all dump sites were properly managed and the drains free from mosquitoes.

"All Dengue hotspots are also Zika hotspots and the risk of Zika spreading depends on the density of Aedes mosquitoes,” he said.

Sibu is said to be the hotpot for Dengue in Sarawak and if there is no serious and effective preventive measures taken by the local residents and the relevant authorities, it is feared that Zika will also make its presence in Sibu.

Dr Lokman said that in Sibu, a big problem which the council needed to address immediately was the drainage system.  

"If we want to minimise the spread of Zika, we’ve got to solve the problem...all areas which are Dengue hotspots need to be cleaned up,” he added.

Asked whether the Health Ministry was at the final stage of developing guidelines for experts on how to manage pregnant women with microcephaly foetus, Dr Lokman said such women could be detected through ultrasound screening and blood test.

However, he said, this was only done on pregnant women with a history of having babies with microcephaly and those who visited countries affected by Zika.

Meanwhile, Dr Lokman who is also the president of the College of Public Health Medicine Malaysia, announced that the 5th Asean Pacific Public Health Conference would be held in September, next year in Kuching.

He said the conference would have at least 1,000 participants from the region and speakers from all over the world. — Bernama