CDC warning about Zika: Use a condom

What about breastfeeding? Good news: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there aren’t any reports showing that babies can catch the virus while they’re breastfeeding, so women don’t have to stop on account of Zika.

Puerto Rico has 22 confirmed Zika cases.

The United Nations (UN) has called for the repeal of laws and policies that restrict access to sexual and reproductive health services in contravention of global standards. “Continuing to exercise rigorous mosquito containment efforts should still be practiced to help combat the transmission of the virus”.

The mosquito that carries the virus is endemic to Central Texas, but mosquito activity is low during the coldest months, according to Travis County health officials.

Colombia says three people have died after contracting the Zika virus and developing a rare nerve disorder.

State health officials said starting Monday it will hold daily briefings about Zika.

“There may actually be more cost associated with the virus than death toll as with the Ebola virus”, he said. Other infections and conditions can lead to the syndrome. Colombia is next on the list, with more than 20,000 cases.

A woman and a child in Queensland, who separately tested positive for Zika after returning to Australia from El Salvador and Samoa respectively, are recovering well, Queensland’s chief medical officer Jeanette Young said.

In 2014, chikungunya, a virus spread by the same species of mosquito as Zika, infected a million people in the Caribbean.

World Health Organization officials have predicted as many as four million people could be infected with the virus this year. But it has become a concern because of a possible link with a birth defect in Brazil.

Now Brazilian officials are saying that pregnant women should think twice before giving a kiss – especially to strangers.

On Friday, the CDC issued new recommendations to those who have traveled to Zika-prone areas: Use condoms during sex or don’t have sex.

A Clinical Advisory Group will also be established to provide expert advice on the management of pregnant women who contract the virus, given the strong suspected causal link between the contraction of the Zika infection during pregnancy and microcephaly.

He adds, though: “This is not a generalized public health measure, for the love of God”. A recent study also found that the virus can stay active in blood and saliva for one week.

However he says that the discovery calls for special precaution to be taken with pregnant women.

Zika has been linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains in Brazil.

The union’s members include workers who go door-to-door in Rio de Janeiro trying to eradicate the mosquito.

The High Commissioner’s Office (OHCHR) underlined that amid the continuing spread of the Zika virus, authorities must ensure that their public health response is pursued in conformity with their human rights obligations, in particular relating to health and health-related rights.