Zika virus: Tonga concerned about possible outbreak

They include an unidentified woman who is pregnant.

“The projection is that we could end up having 600,000 cases”, Santos said, adding there could be up to 1,000 cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare but serious condition that can cause paralysis and which some governments have linked to Zika infection.

Colombian Health Minister, Alejandro Gaviria, said: “There is a causal connection between Zika, Guillain-Barre and the death of three Colombians, one in San Andres and another two in Turbo, Antioquia”.

Brazil’s top research institute meanwhile said Zika, which is typically transmitted by mosquitoes, had been detected in urine and saliva, and warned that even kissing could pose a risk.

Piukala said there haven’t been any reported cases of pregnant women contracting the virus.

An estimated 80 percent of those infected with Zika show no symptoms, and those that do have a mild illness, with a fever, rash and red eyes.

Upholding women’s human rights is essential if the response to the Zika health emergency is to be effective, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said today, following the advice to women by some governments to delay getting pregnant due to the possible link between the virus and neurological disorders affecting newborns.

Zika virus disease is mainly spread by mosquitoes. The three patients had Zika.

Paulo Gadelha says that the virus’s ability to infect other people through the two body fluids requires further study.

The timing, and the fact that numerous mothers were diagnosed with Zika or reported symptoms, have caused alarm over an apparent link with the virus.

Zika is also blamed for an increase in the number of babies born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads and brains. The last time a virus was linked to significant birth defects was half a century ago with the discovery of rubella, or German Measles.

To date, the mosquito-borne virus has spread to more than 20 countries in the Americas, including some where sexual violence is rampant, Al Hussein said.

Officials have also announced plans for heavy spraying and fumigating in certain areas, including future Olympic sites in Rio de Janeiro. He called for laws restricting access to sexual and reproductive health services to be urgently reviewed.