USA's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) recently added Singapore to its list of Zika-affected countries that pregnant women should avoid.

An article by NBC news that was published on September 1, provides a rather interesting take on the decision.

The situation in Singapore

The head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, Tony Fauci, pointed to the jump in those infected with the disease as the catalyst for imposing the travel restriction.

"It went from a handful of cases to 50, to 80 and now it's well over 100 cases,"

The current tally at the time of this article is 115.

The head of CDC, Tom Frieden, also explained to reporters exactly why the cases in Singapore are so worrisome to them.

"Any time there is a disease outbreak in Singapore, it tells us how difficult that disease is to control

Which is kind of a compliment?

How Singapore control the spread of diseases well

Friedman then went on in detail of why Singapore is seen as being effective at controlling the spread of diseases.

He mentioned that he was particularly impressed with Singapore's team of inspectors, specifically our National Environment Agency inspectors.

Fines and quarantines

The article also highlighted Singapore's ability to effectively dole out fines on lapses in security as a factor in our ability to curb the spread of diseases.

Another integral factor brought up by the article to ensuring effective control of diseases is Singapore's ability to impose quarantine and sanctions on those affected.

The US is currently also trying to handle an outbreak of Zika in their country, with Florida housing all 47 of their home-grown cases.

Florida is known to have a hot and humid climate, which is conducive for the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes.

Top image from Stop Dengue Facebook page

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