THERE may be many more local cases of Zika than the 19 recorded by the Ministry of Health and Medical Services so far.

And Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Meciusela Tuicakau says this is because 80 per cent of all people with Zika are asymptomatic — meaning they are not showing symptoms of the disease.

He made the comments yesterday as the Ministry of Health began their “Fight the Bite — Clean Up Fiji Campaign” aimed exclusively at combating mosquito-borne diseases such as Chikungunya, Zika virus and dengue fever. According to the World Health Organization, symptoms of Zika virus include mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. These symptoms normally last for 2-7 days.

“For Zika, the latest count we had last week was 19, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. As you may be aware, 80 per cent of people with Zika are asymptomatic, so they don’t present themselves to the health facilities,” Dr Tuicakau said yesterday.

“The ones that present themselves, those are the ones that we pick up and we send their samples out for testing.”

He said Zika cases were recorded in the Western and Central divisions.

Fiji president Jioje Konrote, who launched the “Fight the Bite” campaign, said while Fiji was familiar with dengue fever and to a lesser extent Chikungunya, the Zika virus was starting to affect people.

“While dengue fever is the most deadly and rapidly spreading mosquito-borne disease in Fiji, the Chikungunya and Zika viruses have recently started to affect our people.

“These diseases are not only a problem in Fiji, but also in the region and globally, causing severe illness and deaths,” Mr Konrote said.

“Presently, no vaccine can effectively treat the dengue, Chikungunya and Zika viruses. This is why cleaning up and destroying mosquito-breeding sites is the most appropriate action to control and prevent the spread of mosquito-borne diseases.”

He said it was important for every person to take ownership of the campaign because it was the only way the nation could be successful in keeping the diseases in check.