WINNIPEG, Manitoba Four Canadians have been infected with the Zika virus from traveling to affected countries, government health officials said on Friday, one more than Health Minister Jane Philpott reported a day earlier.
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“In addition, we are urging everyone, especially pregnant women, to check health travel advisories before leaving the United States and to take preventive measures when traveling in affected areas of the world”, said State Health Commissioner Marissa J. Levine.
The rare tropical disease can also cause possible birth defects, transmitted through bites from the same kind of mosquitoes that can spread other tropical diseases such as dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever.
“In Brazil, there has recently been a significant increase in number of babies born with birth defects (congenital malformations), such as infants born with an abnormally small head and microcephaly (an underdeveloped brain)”, the Public Health Agency of Canada states on its website.
In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization issued a health alert confirming the first Zika virus infection in Brazil.
Blood tests are pending for six to eight patients in Pennsylvania who might have contracted the Zika virus overseas, a state health official said this afternoon.
The concern this time is the Zika virus which is spreading explosively across north and south America.
Most major USA airlines and some cruise lines are allowing concerned customers change travel plans due to the Zika virus.
“The mosquitoes known to transmit the virus are not established in Canada and are not well suited to our climate”, he said. Since Zika virus is affecting foetuses, an outbreak in the country would be disastrous.
He says the best prevention for pregnant women is to avoid Zika outbreak regions and take precautions against mosquitoes. But there are still serious concerns about pregnant women traveling to countries where Zika cases have been reported.
The WHO’s Western Pacific Region Office in Manila said as long as Aedes mosquitoes circulated in the region “it can be anticipated that the virus will emerge”.
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China is closely cooperating with other countries and the World Health Organization, exchanging medical information and staying briefed on the virus situation to be prepared for any risks, it said. I travel, they don’t.
