Zika originated in Africa and also exists in Asia and the Pacific, but has not been associated with microcephaly there.
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The virus is active only during the first week after infection, and can only be transmitted from person to person via mosquito bite. Zika is spread by mosquitoes whose range expand due to warm temperatures.
This week, both American and United Airlines announced that they would refund the tickets of travelers who planned to fly to destinations where the Zika virus has broken out.
Municipal workers sprays insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmits the Zika virus at the Imbiribeira neighborhood in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2016.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deaths from the Zika virus are rare and about 20 percent of the people infected will become ill. Health officials in Latin American countries are advising women to avoid becoming pregnant within the next two years in some cases.
Dr. Bruce Aylward, who runs WHO’s outbreak response department, said any country that has the Aedes mosquito should be concerned about the possibility of the Zika virus arriving.
Officials in El Salvador, Colombia and Jamaica have recommended women postpone getting pregnant.
The Anoka County woman, who is in her 60s, had recently returned from Honduras, which is in the heart of an outbreak that started past year.
The WHO says no definitive link between Zika and fetal brain damage has been proven, but its director general Margaret Chan called the possibility “extremely worrisome”.
“If you’re a pregnant woman, you don’t want to take any unnecessary risk”, she said. Rash, fever, joint pain, vomiting or red eyes are symptoms. But people who are infected while traveling have the potential to spread the virus in the US if they are bitten by local mosquitoes, which can then spread the infection to others in the area. Since the Zika outbreak, an abnormally high number of babies have been born with microcephaly, which is a birth defect that causes an underdeveloped cranium. About half of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned.
Although there have been no detected cases in Singapore, the agencies said in a statement yesterday that it was “inevitable” there would be cases imported into Singapore, given the presence of the mosquito-borne disease in the region and the volume of travel by Singaporeans as well as tourists.
Rio is of special concern, since it will host the Olympic Games in August, which are expected to draw millions of people from around the world to the country. That is defined by the WHO as a serious health crisis that endangers global public health.
Lucey said only Chan had the authority to convene an emergency meeting of top experts on the International Health Regulations’ Emergency Committee to consider declaring Zika a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern”.
Virologist Julius Lutwama with the Uganda Virus Research Institute said Wednesday there has never been a known outbreak in Uganda, though a few samples have tested positive over the years.
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In a similar move, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd and rival Carnival Corp have said they would allow expectant mothers covered by the CDC advisories to reschedule cruises to a later date or switch to an itinerary outside the affected countries.
