In light of the fact that the Zika virus has spread rapidly in Latin America and the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Zika a "public health emergency of international concern" (PHEIC), to bolster the regional capacity to respond to the ongoing Zika outbreaks, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) requested the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) for zika virus and zika positive serum specimens in order to establish PRNT and capture ELISA assays in Taiwan CDC laboratory and improve Taiwan’s laboratory testing capacity for Zika virus. On March 14, 2016, a recent isolate of Zika virus and a vial of PRNT positive serum and Flavi IgM control arrived in Taiwan. In addition, under the US-Taiwan Global Cooperation Training Framework (GCTF), Taiwan has planned to co-organize the International Training Workshop on Laboratory Diagnosis for Zika with the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) during April 13 and 15, 2016. 4 speakers from US and Japan and 26 participants from countries at risk of Zika transmission in the Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia regions will be invited to participate in the workshop. The workshop will cover Zika virus epidemiology and hands-on laboratory training. The goal of the workshop is to strengthen regional capacity to detect, assess, report, notify, verify and respond to the threats and challenges posed by the Zika virus.

According to recent studies, locally transmitted Zika cases were reported in Laos in 2015. Hence, Taiwan CDC has decided to issue a travel notice of Level 1: Watch for Zika virus for Laos along with 4 other countries, including Cambodia ,Indonesia, Malaysia, and Gabon in Africa. Thus far, at least 43 countries, areas and/or territories worldwide, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean region, have reported local outbreaks of Zika virus infection. Taiwan CDC has issued a travel notice of Level 2: Alert for Zika virus for the aforementioned 43 countries and territories.

As of now, two countries with ongoing Zika transmission, including Brazil and French Polynesia, have experienced sustained outbreaks of microcephaly. Moreover, 9 countries have observed an increase in the number of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) cases reported, including French Polynesia, Brazil, Colombia, Suriname, El Salvador, Venezuela, Martinique, Puerto Rico and Panama. More and more clinical and epidemiological data suggest a link between Zika infection and microcephaly/GBS.

Taiwan CDC advises pregnant women and women planning pregnancy to postpone all unnecessary travels to Zika-affected areas. If visits to affected areas are necessary, travelers are advised to conduct self-health management for at least two weeks after returning from affected areas, and follow the doctor’s instructions for all follow-ups. Travelers visitingaffected areas are urged to take precautions against mosquito bites such aswearing light-colored clothing, long sleeves and long pants, applying officially approved mosquito repellent to exposed parts of the body, staying at accommodations installed with window screens, screen doors or air conditioners. People returning from Zika-affected areas are advised to use condoms whenhaving sex for at least 28 days to prevent Zika transmission.Further, Taiwan CDC urges travelers returning from affected areas to proactively contact the quarantine officer at the fever screening station at the airport when suspected symptoms develop. If symptoms develop within twoweeks of their return, please seek immediate medical attention and inform the physician of their travel history. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline,1922 (or 0800-001922).