South Korea will tighten monitoring on the spread of the Zika virus and increase its quarantine infrastructure to effectively deal with any possible outbreak, the government said Wednesday.

Airport authorities will strengthen the monitoring of passengers returning from Zika outbreak countries, as well as imported animals and plants from there, officials said.

The government will also conduct a simultaneous investigation into mosquitoes within this year as the mosquito-borne illness poses a serious health threat, especially to pregnant women and their unborn babies.

These countermeasures were drawn up during an emergency government meeting attended by the vice ministers of the health, foreign, and justice ministries and officials from relevant government agencies.

The virus has been linked to thousands of birth defects in newborn babies like abnormally small heads and improperly developed brains.

The government will be as transparent as possible in the dissemination of information on possible suspected cases to reassure the public, officials said.

The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it will also make treatment guidelines and distribute them to local hospitals across the country. (Yonhap)