270 of 4120 suspected microcephaly cases confirmed

The CDC is now warning women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant to avoid travel or take precautions in the almost two dozen countries with Zika virus. There have been at least 22 cases of the illness affecting travelers returning to the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A Danish tourist has been infected by the Zika virus after visiting southern and central America, Danish hospital officials say, but authorities said Wednesday it was not the first case in Europe, APA reports quoting Associated Press.

Dr Vanessa Van Der Linden, from the Barao de Lucena Hospital in Recife, was the first person to spot a possible link between the Zika virus and a spike in the increase in microcephaly births, a risky condition where babies are born with abnormally small heads.

Symptoms of Zika include mild fever, conjunctivitis and headache and the virus has already been found in 21 countries in the Caribbean, North and South America.

A fumigation brigade shows how seriously South Americans are taking the Zika virus.

Officials say there is a risk of rare and more significant impacts of the disease for pregnant women.

He said 270 confirmed cases “is still quite a substantial number” in a country that has been reporting far lower counts. The virus is also linked to microcephaly, an abnormal smallness of the head in infants, and so Zika is especially risky for pregnant women.

“Travel to regions with ongoing Zika virus outbreaks is not recommended for women who are pregnant or women who are considering pregnancy”, ACOG President Dr. Mark DeFrancesco said in the statement.

So far, only 270 of 4,180 suspected cases have been confirmed as microcephaly, with the brain damage associated with the defect ruled out in 462 cases.

Airlines have been offering refunds or a chance to reschedule for pregnant women who have travel plans to affected regions.

“Risk of getting Zika virus in the Lehigh Valley is very low”, Edwards said.

As many as 1.5 million Brazilians may have been infected with the Zika virus since past year.

With each passing week, the government has come under intensifying pressure in its battle against the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits dengue, Zika and a similar third virus, chikungunya.

Although the virus isn’t fatal, and symptoms in adults eventually subside, there is no known cure for Zika virus at this time.

But the World Health Organization has warned it is expected to spread to every country in the Americas except Canada and Chile. Zika-affected countries included Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Martin, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.