External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Indian Embassy in Singapore has reported that 13 Indians have been affected by Zika virus. “According to our mission in Singapore, 13 Indian nationals have tested positive for Zika in Singapore,” said Vikas Swarup. US health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. Malaysia confirmed on Thursday the first cases of Zika in the Southeast Asian country in a woman who recently travelled to Singapore for three days on August 19. Malaysia’s health minister said the woman tested positive for Zika in her urine after she experienced a rash and fever for a week after her return from Singapore.

The number of confirmed Zika cases in Singapore surged past 100 late Wednesday, including the first pregnant woman to be infected by the disease which can cause deformities in babies. The United States and Britain joined Australia and Taiwan in advising pregnant women to avoid non-essential travel to the city-state, while a local health expert warned the infection rate would rise. Zika can be a major risk for India considering the country’s 1.3 billion population and creaky healthcare system. The country is already struggling to bring mosquito-borne diseases like dengue and chickungunya under control. These two diseases alone kill scores of Indians almost every year and the number of cases reported have been on the rise in recent months.