New York’s 9 Zika cases prompt webinar for health officials

New figures from Brazil’s Health Ministry show that the Zika virus outbreak has not caused as many confirmed cases of a rare brain defect as first feared.

However, Brazil has seen a large increase in microcephaly.

There are 20,297 confirmed cases of the disease in Colombia, the national health institute said in a epidemiology bulletin, among them 2,116 pregnant women. Infants with microcephaly have smaller than normal heads and their brains do not develop properly.

A Phase I clinical trial could begin later this year to test the safety and efficacy of a Zika vaccine in people, but Fauci cautioned that a finished product will take far longer.

About 1.5 million Zika infections have been reported in Brazil, and 63.6 percent of those cases were women.

The virus reaches humans through mosquito bites, although researchers haven’t ruled out transmission through sexual intercourse or blood transfusions.

“These imported cases may result in local spread of the virus in some areas of the United States”, the organization wrote on its website. The CDC recommends that women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant postpone travel to any area in which the virus is being transmitted.

The WHO is under pressure to act quickly in the fight against Zika, after admitting it was slow to respond to the recent Ebola outbreak that ravaged parts of west Africa.

Asked if she thought this might be related to the Zika virus, Dr van der Linden replied: “Yes, probably”.

For more information on the Zika virus, visit the Department of Health’s website here.

After thousands have been infected with the Zika virus, including 31 in the US who’ve traveled overseas, a travel alert is in effect.

Dr. Gregory Taylor said there have been four recent cases in Canada – two in British Columbia, one in Alberta and a newly disclosed case in Quebec, all of them involving people who recently travelled to affected areas. The virus spreads through mosquito bites, with the most common symptoms being fever, rash and joint pain.

Officials say the patient in Boston is expected to survive – and even though Americans have been diagnosed with Zika, there’s no evidence that anyone got infected by a mosquito in the U.S.