There are no confirmed cases of the Zika virus in Bali: none have turned up in the island's hospitals or in reports from district health offices. At the same time, the island is expanding laboratory testing and monitoring for symptoms, prompted by a travel warning issued in the United States.
Indonesia's Ministry of Health confirmed this separately: not a single such case has ever been recorded in the province. Two surveillance systems track infections of this kind — an ongoing one for mosquito-borne diseases, and a separate one for infections new to the country detected in hospitals.
The warning was issued on August 7. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) placed the island at the second of four levels — "practice enhanced precautions". The basis for this was a group of European travellers whose infection was confirmed after a trip to Bali; the European disease control agency reported on them in the spring. Balinese medical staff reviewed those cases and found no link to the island.
Laboratories in Bali and the country's central laboratory are now expanding their capacity for PCR testing and blood tests for antibodies. Clinics and hospitals are watching more closely for matching symptoms, and health screening has been tightened at points of entry into the country.
The Zika virus is spread by the same Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that carry dengue fever. Most infected people feel nothing at all; the rest develop a rash, a mild fever, red eyes, muscle and joint pain, weakness and headaches. That makes it easy to mistake for dengue.
The real danger comes during pregnancy. Infection of an expectant mother causes microcephaly and other congenital birth defects, and can end in the death of the foetus, stillbirth or premature birth. There is no vaccine or medication against the virus itself; only the symptoms can be treated.
Protecting yourself from the virus means the usual protection from mosquitoes: clear away standing water, cover water containers, and use repellents and a mosquito net over the bed.
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