Over 3100 pregnant women in Colombia infected with Zika

There is also the potential for those infected to spread the virus via mosquitoes, which become infected when they bite an infected person. There were more than 400 confirmed cases since November of 2015; from which, 17 were proven to have been associated with the Zika virus.

The primary cause of worldwide alarm has been the more than 10-fold increase of cases of microcephaly, which causes small skulls and brains in infants, in countries where the virus has infected many people.

The virus has been linked to multiple birth defects including microcephaly – or shrunken skulls.

Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos said there are 25,645 people infected with the disease in the country.

“We are projected to reach 600,000 cases before the epidemic reached its ceiling”, he added. The most common symptoms of Zika virus are disease are a fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis.

Although the risk of mosquito-borne transmission on aircraft is extremely low, SAA urged travellers to remain vigilant when travelling to South America.

The statement stressed that amid the continuing spread of the virus, authorities must ensure that their public health responses were pursued in conformity with human health-related rights obligations. Such optimism is supported by a report that Biotech International Limited, an Indian company, has developed the world’s first vaccine against the Zika virus, and had filed a vaccine patent about nine months ago. “A causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth defects and neurological syndromes has not been established but is strongly suspected”, says the World Health Organisation. However, another concern regarding the possible transmission of the virus has surfaced when health officials in Brazil were able to detect Zika in the saliva and urine of patients.

Men have also been encouraged to use condoms with pregnant partners if they’ve recently been to a country where the virus is present, or abstaining from sex altogether for the duration of the pregnancy.

The Federal Government has, in a quick response, instituted travel restrictions to Latin American countries by pregnant women until the situation improves.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that pregnant women should postpone travel to areas where the Zika virus is ongoing.

Still, most worldwide experts are cautious about whether Zika can trigger Guillain-Barre, a rare syndrome that causes paralysis, because other infections and conditions can lead to the illness.

The scientists were careful to clarify that there is no proof the virus can be transmitted through those fluids, but said people should take precautions, especially expecting mothers.

In addition, the US territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have reported nine locally transmitted cases, eight and one case, respectively.