Zika Virus: Three Cases Now Confirmed in New York City

Men who have suffered fever or rash, or been diagnosed with the mosquito-borne virus should avoid unprotected sex or trying for a baby for six months.

Declaring that the Zika virus is “spreading explosively”, the World Health Organization announced it will hold an emergency meeting of independent experts Monday to decide if the outbreak should be declared an worldwide health emergency. Although the virus isn’t spreading locally in the United States yet, it is possible that it will, because the mosquitoes that transmit the virus are common in some parts of the country, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Friday also included the Zika virus among the group of infectious diseases recognized and monitored as potential health threats.

Colombia says it’s had about 16,500 suspected cases of Zika, though only a small fraction have been confirmed by laboratory tests. “There is a need for greater awareness amongst community”, he said.

The otherwise mild Zika virus is also suspected of causing a rare neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome in some patients, in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, causing weakness and sometimes paralysis.

There is no vaccine against Zika, and health officials don’t expect to have a vaccine ready in the next few years.

Travelers who are pregnant, or are planning pregnancy and returning from a country reporting Zika, should contact their physician for counseling. But an estimated 80 percent of those infected suffer no symptoms, making it hard for pregnant women to know whether they have been infected.

Symptoms of infection may include fever, joint pain, itching, rash, conjunctivitis or red eyes, headache, muscle pain and eye pain.

Health authorities are grappling with the outbreak of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has spread at an alarming pace from past year in Brazil and other Latin American countries and has now been reported in the United States, Europe and Asia.

“The risk of Zika virus transmission from a Canadian donor to a blood recipient is very low. We have to mobilise to win it”, she said.

The virus was discovered for the first time on the Pacific island of Yap.

It was only two years ago that the world, particularly West African countries, was hit with the biggest outbreak of the Ebola virus disease, which it is yet to completely recover from. The mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus (as well as dengue and chikungunya) bite both indoors and outdoors and are active during the daytime, so using mosquito precautions throughout the day during travel to areas with Zika is strongly advised.

As a result pregnant woman are especially urged to use caution before heading south.