Red Cross personnel to monitor areas with Zika cases

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has tapped its staff and volunteers to help monitor areas with confirmed cases of Zika virus infection.

In a statement, PRC chairman Sen. Richard Gordon said PRC staff and volunteers shall intensify the dissemination of information on the prevention of the spread of Zika virus.

“As the World Health Organization (WHO) considered Zika as a global health threat, I immediately advised all our staff and Red Cross 143 volunteers nationwide to lead the campaign to prevent the spread of the virus by closely monitoring affected area and providing all necessary information and preventive measures to the public,” Gordon said.

Gordon also said the PRC mobilized all its chapters to make available, through social media and other information sources, helpful guides on how to prevent and deal with the disease, especially in Central Visayas where recently confirmed cases were recorded.

As of Oct. 13, the Department of Health had recorded 17 Zika cases, most of them in Iloilo City. Three cases are in Metro Manila.

Zika infection symptoms are mild fever, skin rashes, joint pain, fatigue, headache and red eyes.

The virus is transmitted primarily through the bite of infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which also cause dengue and chikungunya.  

It can also be spread through blood transfusion and sexual intercourse.

The PRC has urged the public to be more vigilant by protecting themselves against mosquito bites and to eliminate all possible breeding sites of mosquitoes.