Virus linked also to autoimmune disorder, warn Brazilian docs

The absence of vaccines, specific treatments and rapid diagnostic tests for the disease means it has the potential to spread internationally. But only about one in five people who are infected will get sick, and because the illness is usually mild, many people may not know they have it. The risk is not so much to themselves, but to their baby, who can be born with the rare birth defect that causes the small brains. Scores of foreign travelers were expected to visit the country in February for its famed Carnival celebrations, raising the risk that they will bring the virus with them back home. Doctors can now face fines of up to 2 million won ($1,654) for failing to report patients infected by the mosquito-borne disease or showing symptoms of infection.

There are now 31 people in the US who have been diagnosed with the Zika virus, including three pregnant women – two in IL and one in NY.

There is adequate medication available in the public health system at this time to treat the symptoms of Zika virus infection in the event of additional cases being identified, the ministry said.

The commission said it will cooperate with the World Health Organization and closely follow the virus outbreak in other regions. The symptoms of Zika include fever, achy joints, a rash and pink eye. RIO DE JANIERO Last January, long lines formed outside health clinics in Recife, a city in Brazil’s northeast hit hard in recent years by outbreaks of dengue, a painful tropical disease.

Researchers suspect a link between the the birth defect microcephaly in infants and pregnant women with the virus.

If you are considering traveling to Mexico, South America or the Caribbean and are pregnant, you may want to reconsider your trip.

Health officials are advising pregnant women and those planning pregnancy to adopt necessary anti-mosquito precautions, and consider deferring travel. The PAHO also said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism. Similar to viruses such as mononucleosis, no cure now exists for patients with Zika.

The World Health Organization announced Thursday that the Zika virus is “spreading explosively” and it will hold an emergency meeting of independent experts in Geneva Monday to decide if the outbreak should be declared an worldwide health emergency.

Health authorities in Bogota expect more than 600,000 people to be infected with the virus in Colombia this year, further projecting almost 500 cases of microcephaly.