Canadian airlines allow passengers to change flights over Zika virus

Brazilian officials still say they believe there’s a sharp increase in cases of microcephaly and strongly suspect the Zika virus, which first appeared in the country past year, is to blame.

Officials say doctors should ask pregnant women about their travel and certain symptoms, and, if warranted, test them for an infection with the Zika virus.

Another top official at the briefing, Dr. Marcos Espinal, the director of Communicable Diseases and Health Analysis at the WHO’s Pan American Health Organization, noted that those neurological conditions have so far only been found in Brazil. Travellers are to reconsider plans to travel to 22 countries affected by the virus, including many in South and Central America, and the Pacific island nation Samoa.

Brazil has reported around 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly, far more than in an average year and equivalent to 1-2 percent of all newborns in the state of Pernambuco, one of the worst-hit areas.

“For the average American who’s not traveling, this is not something they need to worry about”, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The UN is also mulling whether to declare a global emergency, which will serve as an worldwide call for help, making it easier to gather and pool resources to address an outbreak.

Zika has been detected mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Should pregnant women consider postponing trips to countries with Zika as recommended by the CDC.

The number of cases of infected people continues to grow and at least 20 people in the United States have contracted the virus.

Earlier this week, Dr. John Treanor, Chief of Infectious Diseases at UR Medicine, told WXXI News that “unfortunately right now there is no treatment or prevention for Zika except for measures to reduce the presence of mosquitos and reduce the risk of mosquito bites”. The virus has been linked to babies born with abnormally small heads. No locally transmitted cases of the virus have been reported in the United States but returning travelers have been infected.

On Thursday, a JetBlue Airways spokesman said the airline would give refunds or rebook passengers concerned about traveling to areas affected by the virus.

Interviewed minutes before Mr Chan’s announcement, he said: “I’m disappointed that the World Health Organization has not been acting proactively”.

Infected people can expect fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes for a couple of days or up to a week, and hospitalization is rare, the CDC says. “As a Canadian, you have to change your mindset, because we are used to mosquitoes that bite at dawn or dusk”.

The Zika virus is caused by the aggressive Aedes aegypti mosquito that also causes Dengue and Chikungunya both the viral diseases are of great public health concern to tropical countries like India. The first its link to birth defects and brain damage.

“The world doesn’t have the tools to fight it”, she says “There’ s not a vaccine, there’s not a cure”.