MA has first case of Zika virus

The Zika virus, originally from Africa, is carried from mosquitoes.

A man who traveled to South America has developed the third case of Zika virus in IL.

“The possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika, from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions”.

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is thought to be the sole species transmitting the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) expects that the Zika virus will infect up to 4 million people, a senior WHO official said on Thursday.

All the people diagnosed with the virus had returned to NY from countries where the Zika virus is ongoing. “What they’ve found is that the Zika virus is present in babies that are born with microcephaly, which is an abnormally small head or other brain malfunctions”.

Health authorities are urging pregnant women to reconsider any travel to outbreak-affected areas until researchers have a better understanding of the virus.

Dr. Horacio Arruda, Quebec’s director of public health, said earlier Friday that the case in that province surfaced after a woman returned from the Caribbean with flu-like symptoms in early January. But officials are studying whether some severe birth defects can be linked to an infection during pregnancy. Those are cases from people who travelled outside of the country.

Travelers at Sky Harbor Airport planning trips to countries where the Zika virus has been reported are anxious about the growing number of cases. An estimated two million Argentines traveled to Brazil, and there are concerns more may catch the virus while overseas.

“They don’t have a curent treatment right now so we are waiting to see if they develop anything”, Boukouris said.

“It’s always a good idea to get protected from mosquito bites”, said Dr. Arruda.

“We were looking out for (chikungunya) last summer and luckily it didn’t spread as far north as New Mexico”, he said.