Three Britons contract Zika virus

This virus has been linked to Microcephaly, which is associated with unusually small craniums and irreversible brain defects in newborns.

Researchers say it can’t be transmitted by person-to-person contact, and many cases are very mild, but the virus can cause birth defects in pregnant women, and is being linked to other side effects.

This is what prompted the Salvadoran vice minister of health to tell women there not to get pregnant for two years.

Three Britons have been infected with Zika virus after travelling to South and Central America, Public Health England (PHE) has said.

The American Samoa department of health is investigating possible cases of Zika in the territory.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday repeated its recommendation that pregnant women avoid travel to affected countries until more can be learned about whether it can affect unborn babies. The former could put a strain on the Olympics in Rio which is expecting thousands of spectators from around the globe.

Forty-nine babies with suspected microcephaly have died, Brazil’s health ministry said. Before a year ago there were about 160 cases of microcephaly in Brazil on average.

And recently, there have been confirmed cases of Zika in several USA states.

Most of the patients had also experienced Zika-like symptoms, which can include fever and red splotchy skin, Bandeira said.

Brazil is experiencing the largest known outbreak of Zika, with most cases in the north-east.

The CDC reported this week that a dozen cases of Zika infection have been reported in the USA, and they’re believed to have stemmed from travel overseas. “In May, June and July, we had 24 patients come in with Guillain-Barre, and none since August”, said Antonio Bandeira, an infectious disease specialist at the hospital.

Brazil also warned women considering getting pregnant.

Jamaica has not reported any confirmed cases of Zika, but the health ministry has recommended women delay becoming pregnant for the next six to 12 months. “Some people will pay attention to this and realize they are at risk for something, others are obviously going to ignore it”, he said.

In the Peruvian capital Lima, authorities disinfected a big cemetery for fear that Zika-bearing mosquitos were breeding in the flower pots. In 2014, just 147 Brazilian infants were born with microcephaly.

This 2006 photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a female Aedes aegypti mosquito in the process of acquiring a blood meal from a human host.