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lthough there have been no recent cases of the Zika virus in the country following the recent WHO emergency status alert over the dengue-like Zika virus, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo instructed on Wednesday relevant officials to prepare joint efforts to prevent the virus from spreading in the country.

Jokowi summoned a number of relevant ministers for a limited Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, during which he ordered them to take a number of measures, including early detection steps, public campaigns to raise awareness on the importance on eliminating mosquito breeding grounds and quick response once the virus was detected in the country.

'€œWe should alert our citizens who plan on visiting countries where the Zika virus has been detected; [we need] to also monitor the entry points [across the country],'€ Jokowi said.

Following the meeting, Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Puan Maharani issued a statement saying that the government was prepared to deal with the spread of the virus, dismissing an earlier claim made by a Health Ministry official that the government was unable to take anticipatory measures since Zika was difficult to detect and had similar symptoms to those of other mosquito-borne viruses.

'€œ[We] also urge people to not panic and, at the same time, maintain hygiene and sanitation, and to take measures to prevent potential areas, [for example] puddles, sewers and toilets, from becoming the breeding grounds of the mosquito,'€ Puan said, adding that the government would also call on all schools to partake in the campaign.

'€œWe indeed hope for participation from all elements of the public,'€ she said.

Health Minister Nila Moeloek said the government would impose a travel advisory for Indonesian citizens who wanted to visit South American countries and other Zika-endemic areas.

'€œThey should be careful, particularly women who are pregnant in their first trimester,'€ she said.

According to Nila, one suspected case in Jambi last year had been declared under control.

The Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology warned in a recent report that the virus had been spreading for some time. A Zika infection was found among 103 dengue specimens that the institute took during an outbreak in Jambi between December 2014 and April 2015.

Indonesia has a history of Zika infections dating back to 1981. According to several studies, Zika was found in Indonesia in 1981 and in 2005, said the Health Ministry recently.

The travel advisory would contain prevention guidelines in the countries prone to the virus, said Oscar Primadi, head of the Health Ministry'€™s communications and public services division.

Earlier, WHO urged countries in Southeast Asia to strengthen surveillance and take preventive measures against the Zika virus, which is strongly suspected to have a causal relation with clusters of microcephaly and other neurological abnormalities.

'€œThe Aedes aegypti mosquito, responsible for its spread, is found in many areas and there is no evidence of immunity to the Zika virus in many populations of the region,'€ WHO Southeast Asia regional director Poonam Khetrapal Singhs said in a statement.

The WHO has recommended that countries build capacity in their laboratories to detect the virus and strengthen surveillance of fevers and rashes, neurological syndromes and birth defects.

Countries should intensify their vector control program and prepare health services for managing the Zika virus.
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