Although Zika virus continues to occur in Latin America and the Caribbean region, there is currently no local case of Zika virus infection in Taiwan. The public is reminded not to panic but remain vigilant for the virus. The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) has scaled up relevant laboratory preparedness and response efforts for Zika virus. Once a suspected case is reported, the specimens will be submitted to the Taiwan CDC laboratory for free testing of Zika virus and the result will be available in 48 hours. Since the first imported case was identified in Taiwan on January 10, 2016, Taiwan CDC has completed the testing of 253 reported suspected cases and all of them tested negative for Zika virus.

Thus far, about 30 countries, areas and/or territories worldwide, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean region, have reported local outbreaks of Zika virus infection. Health officials in Brazil estimated that over 440,000 people there have become infected with Zika virus and at least 20,000 people in Colombia have caught the virus. The virus continues to spread.

Taiwan CDC’s command center points out that as Zika virus infection has been listed as a Category V Notifiable Infectious Disease, all healthcare providers are required to report all suspected cases to the health authority. Taiwan CDC laboratory will perform Zika virus RT-PCR assay. At the moment, 8 accredited laboratories in Taiwan can perform Zika virus testing. To ensure competent laboratory capacity and turnaround time, Taiwan CDC will continue to improve the laboratory testing process in Taiwan. Additionally, Taiwan CDC is in the process of planning relevant training on the molecular diagnosis of Zika virus for laboratory professionals.

Although the disease is usually mild, there have been reports of congenital microcephaly in babies of mothers who were infected with Zika virus while pregnant. Taiwan CDC will continue to closely monitor the occurrence of microcephaly in Taiwan and urges physicians to heighten vigilance and voluntarily report such cases to the health authority. In addition, the laboratories in Taiwan can perform Zika virus testing on maternal serum or plasma and amniotic fluid.

There is currently no ongoing transmission of Zika virus in Taiwan and only one imported case of Zika virus infection has been identified in Taiwan. As a result, the focus of Taiwan’s current efforts against Zika virus is to prevent the importation of the virus into Taiwan. Taiwan CDC advises pregnant women and women planning their pregnancy to postpone their trips to areas where Zika virus is active. If visits to affected area are necessary, travelers are urged to take precautions against mosquito bites such as wearing light-colored clothing, long sleeves and long pants, and applying officially approved mosquito repellent to exposed parts of the body. If symptoms develop within two weeks of their return, please seek immediate medical attention and inform the physician of the 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).