WHO says Zika likely in all but 2 countries in Americas

“PAHO is working with its member countries to strengthen vector-control, communicate the risks of Zika and promote prevention, and establish or improve surveillance of both Zika virus infections and suspected complications, such as microcephaly, Guillain-Barre syndrome, and other autoimmune and neurological disorders”, it added.

The mosquito-borne virus is already present in 21 of the 55 countries and territories across the Americas, the organization said in a statement Sunday.

The sudden emergence of concern over Zika began in November when the Brazilian health ministry announced it was investigating whether the virus was behind a sharp increase in cases of babies born with microcephaly, a condition that means they have abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.

There are no easy, widely available tests to determine if someone has Zika or whether they’ve been inoculated to the virus.

The WHO pointed out that since people in the region had not been exposed to Zika before it emerged in Brazil last May, they lacked immunity, allowing the virus to spread quickly.

The outbreak in El Salvador has become so alarming that public health officials are advising women to put off pregnancies for the next two years to avoid complications.

The outbreak has led authorities in some countries to urge couples not to get pregnant, while the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has warned pregnant women to avoid traveling to 22 affected countries.

“But we are watching closely and connecting with partners to see how our knowledge and capabilities might be useful in helping to accelerate progress on this front”, she said. However, if the sick person is isolated from mosquitos, the virus will run its course and be less likely to infect future mosquitos, thereby preventing localized infections. Although past year Brazil saw only 147 cases of microcephaly, since October the nation has reported 3,893 suspected Zika-related cases.

The clinical symptoms of Zika are usually mild and often similar to dengue, a fever which is transmitted by the same Aedes aegypti mosquito, leading to fears that Zika will spread into all parts of the world where dengue is commonplace.

“We have to combat this mosquito, it is transmitting the highest severity diseases, including the Zika which has caused the microcephaly”.

According to the CDC, only 1 in 5 people infected with the disease become symptomatic, with rare hospitalizations and no known deaths.

According to the Associated Press, the committee plans daily inspections of the Olympic and Paralympic sites to seek out stagnant waters where Zika-spreading mosquitoes could breed. The case suggested local transmission since the patient had not been traveling.

The Zika virus – linked to births of babies with smaller-than-usual brains in Brazil – is likely to spread to all countries in the Americas except for Canada and Chile, the World Health Organization has said. The travel advisory may have serious economic repercussions as Brazil will host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Most people will at worst get a rash or flu-like symptoms, but Zika poses a significant threat to pregnant women.