Authority watchful to avert risk of Zika virus

This is the first reported, laboratory-confirmed case in a traveler returning to Virginia, sometimes referred to as an “imported” case, the department said.

Dilma Rousseff said an operation to eliminate breeding areas for the Aedes aegypti mosquito had begun at installations run by the armed forces and at educational, health and other centres.

Boukouris says there have been no reported cases at Providence.

What about women who are trying to get pregnant? There is now no vaccine to prevent infection or treatment for Zika virus. “Pregnant women are strongly encouraged to consider postponing travel to Zika-affected countries while pregnant”.

Tam notes the risk of sexual transmission of Zika is considered low, but adds more information is needed.

One reason the US won’t be so badly affected is because of the experience gained from preparing for previous outbreaks of imported pathogens – H1N1, SARS, MERS and Ebola among them.

The World Health Organization warned this week that the virus is “spreading explosively” in the Americas, with three million to four million cases expected this year. There have been reports of microcephaly and other poor pregnancy outcomes in babies of mothers who were infected with Zika virus while pregnant.

Taylor stressed that while Zika has an association with microcephaly – a condition where a baby is born with an abnormally small head – it has not been proven yet.

The Nigeria Center for Disease Control has commenced Zika virus diagnosis as part of ongoing effort to manage the present Lassa fever outbreak in the country, the senior health official said. She declined to say what portion of the state they were from, citing patient confidentiality. The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The federal government has issued travel alerts, but Falcone said the situation “is worrying, that’s for sure”.

Play video “Zika Virus: Who’s At Risk?” A person infected with the virus can introduce the disease to a new region by being bitten by a member of an existing mosquito population that until then was unaffected by Zika. The spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus in more than 20 countries, particularly in South and Central America, has set off alarm bells causing many carriers to offer rescheduling/refunds for tickets purchased for travel to areas where the virus is now wreaking havoc. For that reason, the CDC is recommending that women who are pregnant or may become pregnant not to travel to the 24 countries where the disease is widespread.