Zika virus ‘spreading explosively’ in North and South America

Marcos Espinal, the head of communicable diseases and health analysis at the WHO’s Americas office, said the region should expect “3 to 4 million cases” of Zika, without proving a timeframe for the outbreak to ramp up to that level.

Dr. Chan disclosed that she has set up a Zika “emergency team” after the volatile outbreak of the virus, adding that the team would meet on Monday to decide whether Zika should be treated as a global emergency.

Brazil’s health ministry said in November 2015 that Zika was linked to a fetal deformation known as microcephaly, in which infants are born with abnormally small heads.

Zika is a mosquito-borne virus – similar to West Nile – which is spread to people through bites of infected mosquitoes.

“Though mosquitoes are not now active in New York City, we have already started a comprehensive response to Zika virus”, said Dr. Palacio.

“There aren’t screens, there aren’t air conditioners and the level to exposure to mosquitos is dramatically higher than what we see”, Pavia said. Some researchers have wondered whether someone who gets infected with Zika and dengue at the same time, for instance, may suffer worse effects. While the NIH has begun some initial work, additional investment in research and collaboration with scientists in other affected countries will be necessary to prevent the future spread of the virus.

While many people with the Zika virus experience no symptoms, some can catch fevers, experience rashes and joint pains, as well as get red eyes.

The insect believed to be linked to the fast-spreading, highly-publicized Zika virus has been detected in San Diego, health officials confirm, but there have not been any local cases of the disease reported.

She noted that the last case of chikungunya, a related virus carried by the same mosquito, was six months ago. Some public health experts say the world’s health agency has not been moving fast enough on Zika. Pregnant women are now urged not to visit countries currently affected by the virus.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control, the Zika virus is now in over 20 countries, mostly in Central and South America.

This spike is thought to be caused by Zika virus infections in pregnant women, as there has not been any other cause found like increased diagnosis or reporting, increased ultrasound examinations, or other environmental agents.

The fast spreading Zika virus appears to have caught the world by surprise. “The mosquito responsible for transmission in areas of Latin America and the Caribbean is aedis aegypti which is a mosquito species that we do not see here”.

There is now no treatment or vaccine for the illness. A lifestyle change by humans, thus caused an evolutionary “lifestyle change” in these viruses – they evolved a new life cycle involving transmission from humans to mosquitos to humans. It also will try to ensure that member states don’t make inappropriate steps that would unnecessarily affect travel and trade, he said.

In addition, in French Polynesia, there has been a simultaneous epidemic of 73 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) – a neurological disease that involves rapidly progressive paralysis over just a couple of weeks – in a population of just about 270,000 people.

It is unclear how many passengers will ask for their money back, given that numerous refund offers are limited to pregnant women. The imminent threat of Zika to the United States is deeply troubling, as are reports that the development of a vaccine could take as long as ten years.