Previously, CDC issued a travel alert for people traveling to regions and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing: the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a USA territory; Barbados; Bolivia; Brazil; Cape Verde; Colombia; Ecuador; El Salvador; French Guiana; Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Martinique; Mexico; Panama; Paraguay; Saint Martin; Samoa; Suriname; and Venezuela.
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Although there is now no vaccine or treatment for the virus, the CDC recommended extra close monitoring of ultrasounds to check for birth defects, namely deformed heads, a sign of microcephaly.
WHO’s regional office for the Americas said there are two main reasons for the “rapid spread”.
The relatively new virus – transmitted by the same mosquito that carries yellow fever, West Nile, chikungunya and dengue – has sparked worldwide concern because of its connection to a unsafe neurological birth defect called microcephaly.
The arrival of Zika in Brazil previous year initially caused little alarm, as the virus’ symptoms are generally much milder than those of dengue.
In addition to 19 cases in the continental United States, there have also been 19 people infected in the USA territory of Puerto Rico.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned pregnant women to take precautions against mosquito bites when travelling to areas in Latin America and the Caribbean where there have been Zika outbreaks. One case had been reported earlier.
World Health Organization spokesman Christian Lindmeier said he hadn’t seen the remarks, “but in general terms I think that this would be a bit of a fatalistic approach because this should mean we could lay down all our approaches now and declare the war lost”.
Emails to Castro’s office for comment were not immediately answered.
Before 2015, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands faced Zika virus outbreaks.
There is no evidence of any local transmission of the Zika virus in the United States federal officials said, but it has been reported in travelers returning home.
Australia’s female athletes of child-bearing age have been urged consider the risks of competing in the Rio Olympics, which is due to kick-off on August 5, as the virus can cause brain damage in babies.
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Dr Kathryn Edwards of Vanderbilt University, who serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on infectious disease, said the guidelines were meant to help establish whether Zika causes microcephaly and to help pregnant women who may have been infected with the virus. Colombian officials say they’ve recorded more than 13,500 suspected cases and President Juan Manuel Santos said there could be 600,000 cases by year’s end.
