Singapore has confirmed 41 cases of locally transmitted Zika virus in one neighbourhood of the city-state — the largest local cluster to be identified so far as the mosquito-borne disease spreads in Asia.

新加坡已确认在这个城市国家的一个地段发现41名寨卡病毒(Zika virus)本地感染者，这是该疾病迄今在亚洲发现的最大感染群体，这种通过蚊子传播的疾病正在亚洲扩散。

More cases of Zika are likely to be diagnosed, the Singapore health ministry¹ said on Sunday.

新加坡卫生部周日表示，更多寨卡患者可能会被确诊。

Most of those affected² so far were foreign building workers.

到目前为止，感染者大多为外国建筑工人。

Seven are in hospital and the remaining 34 have recovered.

其中7人还在医院，34人已经康复。

Singapore’s first case of local transmission was confirmed on Saturday in a 47-year-old Malaysian woman.

新加坡上周六证实第一个本地感染病例，患者为一名47岁的马拉西亚女性。

The National Environment Agency said it had ordered a halt to work at a large building project close to the outbreak, “as the housekeeping of the construction site was found to be unsatisfactory with potential ... habitats favourable³ to mosquito breeding”.

新加坡国家环境局( National Environment Agency)表示，已下令疾病爆发区附近的一个大型建筑项目停工，“因为工地的保洁工作不能让人满意……可能成为有利于蚊子滋生的潜在栖息地。

The agency sent out 200 officers to clean drains and spray insecticide in the affected area early on Sunday, while volunteers and contractors⁴ handed out leaflets and insect repellent.

周日早间，该机构派出200名官员前往感染区域清洁下水道并喷洒杀虫剂，还有志愿者和承包商分发传单和驱蚊剂。

“To minimise the risk of further spread of Zika in Singapore, it is critical that all of us as a community take immediate⁵ steps to prevent mosquito breeding in our homes . . .

“为了尽量减小寨卡在新加坡进一步蔓延的风险，最紧要的是我们所有人要共同立即采取措施，防止蚊虫在我们的家园滋生……

 and protect ourselves from mosquito bites by applying insect repellent regularly,” the agency urged Singaporeans in a joint statement with the health ministry.

并经常使用驱蚊剂保护自己免受蚊虫叮咬。新加坡国家环境局与卫生部在一份联合声明中敦促新加坡人。

Zika has affected 67 countries since last year, according to the World Health Organisation’s latest count issued on Friday.

世界卫生组织(WHO)上周五发布的最新统计显示，自去年以来，寨卡疫情已经传播到了67个国家，包括处于热带地区的所有美洲国家。

They include every country in the tropical Americas.

In most people the symptoms of infection are minor⁶ and transient but the virus poses a risk to pregnant women because it can cause serious birth defects.

对大部分人而言，感染寨卡病毒的病征都是轻微、短暂的，但该病毒会对孕妇带来风险，因为它会引发严重的出生缺陷。

In Brazil it has been linked to more than 1,600 cases of microcephaly in which babies are born with small heads.

在巴西，寨卡病毒已经导致了1600多例新生儿小头畸型。

In the US, where mosquitoes are spreading Zika in parts of Florida, the Centres for Disease Control has reported 16 cases of babies with birth defects linked to Zika.

在蚊子正传播寨卡病毒的美国佛罗里达州部分地区，美国疾病控制与预防中心(CDC)已经报告了16起与寨卡病毒相关的婴儿出生缺陷病例。

The WHO has said there is strong evidence that Zika can also cause rare cases of neurological disorder⁷ in adults too.

世卫组织称，有强烈证据表明，寨卡病毒还可能引发成人出现罕见的神经疾病。

Elsewhere in Asia, Thailand has recorded about 100 cases of Zika in 10 provinces this year and there have been cases in eight other countries, though none has reported such a concentrated cluster as Singapore.

在亚洲其他地区，泰国今年已在10个省份记录了100起寨卡病毒感染病例，还有8个国家也报告了相关疫情，但这些国家没有像新加坡那样集中爆发。