First Wave Of Zika Virus Blows Into Ontario, Canada

OH now has four confirmed cases of Zika virus.

“Ensuring that Ontarians are fully informed about emerging and infectious diseases such as Zika virus is a priority”.

The risk to Ontarians remains very low, as the mosquitoes known to transmit the virus are not established in Canada and are not well-suited to our climate.

There hasn’t been a single reported case of locally acquired Zika virus in Canada.

Most people who contract the infection have no symptoms, but some experience fever, joint pain, rash and red eyes.

There have been reports of a serious birth defect of the brain called microcephaly (meaning small head) and other poor pregnancy outcomes in babies of mothers who were infected with Zika virus while pregnant.

Since it appeared in Brazil previous year, the virus first detected in monkeys in Africa in 1947 has spread to more than 26 countries in the Americas, and to several countries elsewhere.

WHO had declared the outbreak of Zika an global health emergency on February 1, citing a “strongly suspected” relationship between Zika virus and microcephaly.

But de Filippis stressed that the latest discovery does not prove that the Zika virus caused microcephaly in the two Brazilian infants in the study.

The number of Canadians infected with the Zika virus has risen to nine. It is recommended that pregnant women and those considering becoming pregnant discuss their travel plans with their health care provider to assess their risk and consider postponing travel to areas where the Zika virus is circulating in the Americas.

“What we’re trying to do is to better define the association between children that have been diagnosed with microcephaly and whether or not they might have evidence of congenital Zika virus infection”, said CDC medical epidemiologist and study lead Dr. Erin Staples.

Preliminary results of the two case control studies conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Brazilian biomedical research centres in the northeastern states of Bahia and Paraiba should be ready “this spring”, said CDC principal deputy director Anne Schuchat.