Zika cases in pregnant women double in Colombia

In the United States, a total of 31 cases of Zika have been documented since past year, all involving people who were infected while they were out of the country. The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). There have been 31 cases of US citizens getting the virus overseas as of Friday morning, according to the CSC.

The virus has been linked to a devastating birth defect called microcephaly in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains that have not developed properly.

The WHO said as many as 4 million people in Latin America may be infected.

Zika cases have been confirmed in 23 countries and territories in the Americas and scientists are racing to develop a vaccine for the virus.

“288 samples were tested at the National Public Health Laboratory and Institute of Medical Research, and the samples showed negative results”, he said.

However, Arruda added, “this virus may cause serious complications in babies carried by an infected mother during pregnancy”.

“We certainly have our share of mosquitoes in Hawaii, so that combined with the temperate climate we have and the certain environment, fosters the disease transmission”, said Keith Kawaoka, Environmental Health Administration Deputy Director.

The Centers for Disease Control this month recommended that pregnant women consider postponing travel to affected areas, and health officials in El Salvador have advised women to delay pregnancy until 2018.

The Pan American Health Organization reported the first confirmed Zika virus in Brazil in May 2015. This mosquito also spreads dengue fever, yellow fever and chikungunya.

In most people the Zika virus produces no symptoms at all. Most of those countries are in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Thus far, no mosquitoes in Texas have been found carrying the virus. Alberta has also reported a case of an individual who contracted the virus overseas.