THE Republic has reported a new Zika case this year during the week of Aug 21 to 27, as 666 dengue cases were reported for that week.

This is the first Zika case since March 2020.

This is according to the latest weekly infectious diseases bulletin published by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Aug 31.

The Straits Times has contacted MOH for more details about the patient.

Zika is a virus infection transmitted by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. The insect is also a carrier of the dengue and chikungunya viruses.

The Zika case comes amid a surge in dengue infections this year. Since the start of the year, 25,591 dengue cases have been recorded, compared with 5,258 cases reported for the whole of 2021.

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In 2016, MOH confirmed the localised community spread of Zika virus infection in Singapore. In that same year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the Zika outbreak a public health emergency.

Symptoms include fever, an itchy rash, body aches, headache, red eyes and occasionally nausea and vomiting.

These usually develop within three to 12 days after the mosquito bite and often last between four and seven days.

The National Environment Agency said on its websitethere is currently no active Zika cluster as at Friday. THE STRAITS TIMES