2 more Floridians infected with Zika virus while traveling to other countries

“All we’re doing is to make sure that indeed we check whether it was the Zika virus, because that’s what the NICD must conserve with the laboratory that has done the test”.

Ontario has its first confirmed case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus as the winter vacation season to warmer climes hits high gear. However, the Zika virus usually causes mild symptoms for a short time; many people won’t notice symptoms at all.

He said that although the United States recently reported a case of the Zika virus being transmitted sexually, it is still regarded as a very rare occurrence.

“CDC also recommends that pregnant women consider postponing travel to areas with Zika virus transmission due to the possible association between Zika and certain birth defects”. He adds anyone who traveled to countries affected by Zika virus and are concerned they might have contracted the disease should speak with their doctor to see if they need to be tested.

South African health authorities on Friday confirmed the first Zika case involving a Colombian businessman.

Prof Jimmy Whitworth of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said that that while the research can not prove a link, the tests “strengthen the body of evidence that Zika virus is the cause of fetal microcephaly in Brazil”. The infection is a nationally notifiable disease and should be reported to local, state or territorial health departments for purposes of research and testing.

The new recommendations say that infants with typical head size, normal ultrasounds and a normal physical exam who are born to mothers who traveled to areas with Zika do not require any special care beyond what is routinely provided to newborns.

On Feb.1, the World Health Organization a global health emergency over an outbreak of birth defects and neurological disorders linked to the fast-spreading Zika epidemic, in a move that reflects the extraordinary circumstances surrounding a virus that causes no symptoms in the vast majority of cases.

The CDC is advising against travel to countries dealing with Zika, especially for pregnant women traveling to these areas.

There is now no cure or vaccine for Zika, so in a bid to beat it, affected countries have declared war on the Aedes aegypti, trying to wipe out breeding spots, kill larvae either with chemicals or with fish that feed on them, and fumigation to kill off adult mosquitos.