Dominican Republic confirms 10 cases of Zika virus

The entire region has been hit hard by the virus especially Brazil where more than a million cases have been confirmed, some of which have resulted in microcephaly in babies, an incurable condition where an infant’s head is abnormally small.

This comes on the heels of last week’s travel alert from the CDC recommending pregnant women postpone travel to Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

The virus was first reported in Africa, Asia and the Pacific before leaping to the Americas a year ago.

Apart from the outbreaks in South America and the Caribbean, small numbers of cases have been detected in East Malaysia, Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand, she said. The recommendations also call for women who have traveled to these places during their pregnancy be screened and monitored for the virus if their visit took place while the virus was present in the country they visited.

In the past four months, authorities have received reports of almost 4,000 cases in which Zika may have caused microcephaly in newborns.

Zika was first identified in rhesus monkeys in Uganda in 1947 and was reported in humans in 1952.

“Many persons may remain unaware they have the virus, as they may not develop any symptoms”.

Unlike some other worldwide health scares, the Zika virus is not spread person to person. But then came the spike in microcephaly: Since October the country has recorded 3,893 suspected cases, compared with fewer than 150 for all of 2014.

“The link between the Zika and the microcephaly…is still being investigated”, Lindmeier said, but acknowledged that Zika “seems the strongest candidate”.

But fumigation would only be an option on a case-by-case basis because of concerns for the health of the athletes and visitors.

El Salvador has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Latin America, with girls aged 10 to 19 accounting for about a third of all pregnancies. The cases have appeared in almost all Brazilian states.

“Residents are urged to cooperate fully and allow NEA officers to inspect their premises for mosquito breeding and to spray insecticide to kill any infective mosquitoes”.

In the USA there are confirmed cases of the virus among individuals who have traveled to infected countries, including in Illinois, Florida and Texas, among others.

Authorities in Brazil are struggling to combat the rapid spread of the Zika virus, which is carried by mosquitoes and is believed to cause serious defects among babies born to women infected while pregnant.

“Effective education to help the public understand the potential risks for pregnant women and those planning to become pregnant… should be sufficient to help reduce the possibility for ongoing infections”, Glatter said, referring to travelers who might return to NY with the virus.

The organizing committee for the Games said it hopes the slightly cooler, dryer weather in August will ease the problem by curbing the breeding of the mosquitos. “I’m not going to risk a child”.