Brazil’s health officials say they’re convinced the jump is linked to a sudden outbreak of the Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease similar to dengue. The virus is transmitted by mosquitos and can spread from a pregnant mother to her fetus.
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According to the CDC website, Zika outbreaks have occurred in areas of Africa, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and the Americas, particularly Brazil. Travelers to areas where cases of Zika virus infection have been recently confirmed are at risk of being infected with the Zika virus. Mothers with the virus who are pregnant with child may also give birth to babies with unusually small heads and underdeveloped brains.
Usually rare, more than 3,500 babies with the condition have been reported in Brazil since October.
The CDC has also issued interim guidelines for health care providers in the USA caring for pregnant women during a Zika virus outbreak. Of paramount concern is protecting pregnant women from bites, as well as those who plan to become pregnant.
The director of IDPH, Nirav D. Shah, M.D., J.D., said that people in the states should not worry about getting infected within the country because the virus can only be transmitted via a mosquito bite.
Zika cases, as per the Center for Health Protection, do not have symptoms, though some can experience headache, fever, rash, muscle pain, joint pain and conjunctivitis. So far, they say, there is no evidence that the virus has begun to spread locally in the US. He added that the announcement made on Wednesday about the detection of the virus in the placenta of a woman who miscarried in the first trimester has come up as another piece of the puzzle.
However, Jamaica’s Minister of Health Horace Dalley remarked that they can’t stay complacent for it’s just a matter of time before the mosquito-borne disease will hit the country as mentioned by US News and World Report.
The CDC has named 14 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico, Mexico and Haiti and are advising pregnant women to avoid travel there.
Among these states, the Illinois Department of Public Health said in a statement that two pregnant Illinois women have tested positive for the Zika virus and that doctors are monitoring their health and pregnancies.
On Tuesday, Brazilian researchers took another step towards proving Zika causes microcephaly.
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On Friday, officials reported of the first case of a US baby born with a birth defect likely linked to the virus.
