After the detection of one case of the Zika virus in South Africa last week the Ministry of Health has scaled up defense mechanisms and alertness to vigilantly guard the country against the disease. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health (MoH) Shenaaz El Halabi has urged Batswana not to panic. “It is not like the Zika virus is new. It has always been there and it goes way back to the 1940s” she said. The first case of the Zika Virus was in Uganda, and that is why in Uganda there is a city called Ziika because that was where the outbreak of the disease was first registered and a research unit had to be set there. She emphasised that they don’t want to create anxiety but rather to raise awareness. She said that after the South African case, an emergency meeting was held in order to map the way forward. She said they have been working on the preparedness plan and they have already had meetings with districts to prepare them. “The SA case is a very important and we already have systems in place to monitor our local responses,” she said. They are working with World…