The possibility that the Zika virus and this condition are linked only emerged in October when Brazil saw a huge upsurge in the number of cases of microcephaly.
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Babies should also be screened after birth, according to Dr. Bell.
While there is no approved vaccine, a top USA health official said the government could start work on an experimental one as soon as this year.
The virus was first discovered in Uganda in 1947, and over the next several decades was found throughout Africa and Asia.
Wolfe says if you haven’t traveled outside of the US over the past few months, you should have zero worry about contracting the Zika virus. Travelers showing symptoms are still being urged to seek testing for tracking purposes, but there have been no fatalities from the Zika virus recorded in the United States. “It tends to be fever, red eyes, a rash and joint pain”. An estimated 80 percent of people infected have no symptoms, meaning it can be hard to tell if a pregnant woman has been infected.
“In the long term, simply not traveling is not a solution – anymore than telling women not to get pregnant is not a solution”. Discussions on this disease outcome and the threat from Zika virus infection have taken place with the World Health Organisation (WHO) Suva office.
The Venezuelan man passed through the northern coastal city of Tumbes before coming to the capital, and health authorities there are bolstering efforts to eradicate mosquitoes, Velasquez said. A causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth defects and neurological syndromes has not been established, but is strongly suspected. “More research is still needed on transmission and effects of this disease”.
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Doctors writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association said Zika had “explosive pandemic potential” and a state of emergency similar to the case of Ebola outbreak is probable.
