The mosquito- borne disease, Zika virus, is linked to birth defects where babies are born with abnormal small heads known as microcephaly.
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Since October, some 3,500 babies in the South American nation have been diagnosed with microcephaly, a debilitating condition which causes their heads to be smaller than normal and can lead to disruptions of motor skills, speech ability, and mobility.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised pregnant women to reconsider travel to Brazil and 21 other countries with Zika outbreaks.
The Salvadorean government decided to make the announcement because 5,397 cases of the Zika virus had been detected in El Salvador in 2015 and the first few days of this year.
“That’s what triggered these red flags for worldwide travel by USA women”, Slifka said.
The Zika virus originated in Africa and has spread through parts of Asia.
Dr Dipti Patel, director at National Travel Health Network and Centre, warned pregnant women not to travel to countries where there is an outbreak of the virus.
But the specific threat to pregnant women and their fetuses, and the seeming impossibility of avoiding mosquitoes in tropical countries, has given this crisis extra bite. Many people do not show any signs of infection. “It is likely the cases (of Zika) will increase”.
Typical symptoms are similar to the flu, including fever, joint pain, rash, conjunctivitis, headache and muscle pain.
“This is an emerging situation, it’s an emerging virus and things are definitely going to change”, she said.
There is no vaccine for Zika; the only way to avoid contracting the virus is to prevent mosquito bites. Infants probably contracted the virus from their mothers who were infected while pregnant, the ministry said.
The announcement by the Rio authorities comes amidst growing attention around the world over the large number of cases of Zika in the Americas. Due to the potential link between the Zika virus and microcephaly, the ACOG is recommending medical professionals to take more detailed patient histories for their female patients who are pregnant or have plans to get pregnant. “My rationale is this is more or less what we saw with another arbovirus infection transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes known as chikungunya”.
Although contraception in the South American country is provided free, women (especially those in impoverished rural areas) have little access to it, according to the Colombian activist.
This week, Brazil’s health ministry said 49 deaths have been linked to microcephaly.
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Dr. Antonio Bandeira, an infectologist with the Couto Maia Hospital in the northeastern city of Salvador, said that during last year’s rainy season, when a Zika outbreak was at its peak, he had an unusual spate of patients with Guillain-Barre.
