China faces risk of Zika but low possibility of outbreak

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil, was “spreading explosively” in the Americas.

The virus has been linked to the devastating birth defect microcephaly, which prevents fetus’ brains from developing properly.

As for those people who are not traveling in one of the 23 countries infected with Zika, medical professionals are adamant that there is no reason to worry about contracting the disease within the U.S.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Zika virus outbreaks have occurred in areas of Africa, southeast Asia, South America and the Pacific Islands. Since the outbreak in Brazil, the virus has spread to multiple countries in South America, Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico.

China faces a risk of the import of Zika virus but the possibility of an outbreak is low, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said on Friday. The New York Times reported that “as many as four million people could be infected by the end of the year”. So far there haven’t been any transmitted cases reported in the United States, except for Puerto Rico. Pregnant woman and women intending on getting pregnant also are encouraged to talk with their doctor on whether they should travel to these countries.

About 25 percent of people develop symptoms such as a rash, fever, joint pain, red eyes, and or a headache within two to ten days of being bitten.

“One is that this mosquito is not here, that transmits these diseases, which is a really good thing”. There have been reports of microcephaly and other poor pregnancy outcomes in babies of mothers who were infected with Zika virus while pregnant. In toddlers, the Zika virus appears like a flu and requires the same treatment. There is no vaccine for the Zika virus.

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Ms Mani said there has been an ongoing surveillance on Zika virus by the Ministry from a year ago including clean-up campaigns against mosquito vectors for dengue (which is the same vector for Chikungunya and Zika Virus).