Canadians confirmed to have catch Zika virus

But there is also a lot of uncertainty about the Zika virus. Taylor said he was not aware of any pregnant women in Canada infected.

Dr. Kurt Barnhart, chair of the Pennsylvania section of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the virus isn’t to be taken lightly, but isn’t as serious as many fear.

Almost half of Colombia’s Zika cases have been reported in the country’s Caribbean region, the bulletin said.

In rare cases, pregnant women who contract the virus can pass it onto their fetuses, which can cause a birth defect called microcephaly, characterized by a small head and brain.

The mosquito-borne disease has been linked to thousands of severe birth defects in Brazil. The department is looking for the infections that may be travel associated infections like Zika or viruses that are already present at home like West Nile virus.

The Zika virus has mothers everywhere concerned about their health, especially the ones with family in South America.

Dr. Gregory Taylor says there have been four recent cases in Canada – two in BC, one in Alberta, and a newly disclosed case in Quebec – all of them involving people who recently travelled to affected areas.

The CDC says that the Zika Virus will continue to spread and it will be hard determine how it will spread over time.

The Health Minister emphasised that there should be an increased focus on prevention to control the spread of the Aedes mosquito that breeds in clean water.

The institute said 37.2 percent of pregnant women with Zika live in Norte de Santander province, along the eastern border with Venezuela.

The race is on to find a vaccine, as the mosquito-born Zika virus takes hold in the Americas.

Up to now some 4,500 people are suspected of having been infected with the Zika virus, according to Melo.

“It’s from the mosquito, an infected mosquito that bites you and that’s when you can get the virus”. Alberta has also reported a case of an individual who contracted the virus overseas.