(ECNS) – The Zika virus (ZIKV) is likely to hit Shanghai, and mosquito control is the most effective way to prevent an outbreak of the epidemic, the Shanghai Morning Post reported on Thursday, citing Lu Hongzhou, a clinical specialist with the World Health Organization and the Party chief of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center.
The Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center said it has made contingency plans and is ready to combat the virus. It has prepared 33 beds for emergency wards, which will be used to quarantine patients in the case of an outbreak.
On Monday, China's National Health and Family Planning Commission said that Zhejiang province, Shanghai's neighbor, reported two new cases of ZIKV infections, bringing the total number of infections on the Chinese mainland to five, all imported from other countries.
The father, 38, and son, 8, from Yiwu, Zhejiang province, were diagnosed with the disease following a recent trip to Fiji and Samoa.
Previous studies have found that ZIKV infections are mainly caused by mosquito bites. The Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention have stepped up monitoring of mosquitoes and provided the public with information on mosquito control.
The WHO has predicted a total of 4 million cases of ZIKV infections across the world, according to Zhu Tongyu, the director of the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center.
