Zika virus, a wolf in sheep’s clothing

The word “zika” is derived from the Zika forest in Uganda, where the virus was first isolated by scientists from a sentinel rhesus monkey.

Travellers with immune disorders or severe chronic illness are also advised to consult a doctor before travelling and everyone going to affected areas should take steps to prevent mosquito bites.

The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which is suspected of causing brain damage to babies in Brazil, is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas except for Canada and Chile, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

Staff with LA County Public Health are working to make Zika virus a mandatory reportable disease, Dr. Ben Schwartz, deputy director of the acute communicable diseases control program told NBC4.

“Studies are under way to evaluate the risks for Zika virus transmission during pregnancy, the spectrum of outcomes associated with congenital infection and the possible association between Zika virus infection and Guillain-Barré syndrome”, the Brazilian medical practitioners said.

 Amid growing concern over the virus, US, EU and Canadian health authorities have warned pregnant women not to to travel to the 21 countries where the virus has been detected. The symptoms resemble a mild case of the flu – headache, muscle and joint pain, and mild fever – plus a rash.

Dr Graham Fry, medical director at the Tropical Medical Bureau, said that in 2015 there were a “colossal” 40,000 cases of Zika in French Polynesia and, of these cases, there were no reports of microcephaly.

In El Salvador, the number of Zika virus cases reported was just south of 5,400 near the start of the new year.

Only 20 per cent of those infected show symptoms of the short-lived virus.

We already reported in early January that the Zika virus is seen to spread to the United States.

A graduate student works on analyzing samples to identify the Zika virus in a laboratory at the Fiocruz institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Jan. 22, 2016. But while there appears to be a connection with Zika, researchers have not definitively confirmed a causal link.

The countries added to the alert include: Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin and Guyana; Cape Verde, off the coast of western Africa; and Samoa in the South Pacific. Anyone who suffers from the infection will most likely develop immunity to the Zika virus for the rest of their lives.