S-E Asia braces itself for Zika as Thailand appears to steer clear

Kuala Lumpur

TROPICAL South-east Asian countries said on Friday that they were bracing themselves for the mosquito-borne Zika virus, with Malaysia saying it could "spread quickly" if introduced, but Thailand appeared to be bucking the trend with just a handful of cases a year.

Zika, linked to severe birth defects including babies born with abnormally small heads, is wreaking havoc in Brazil where the government has deployed more than 200,000 troops to eradicate mosquitoes. The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday the virus was "spreading explosively" and could infect as many as four million people in the Americas. No treatment or vaccine is available.