The health ministry emphasised that there should be an increased focus on prevention to control the spread of the Aedes mosquito that breeds in clean water.
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Currently, there is no vaccine to prevent or medicine to treat Zika.
Brazil has reported a 10- to 20-fold increase in the number of cases of microcephaly corresponding with the Zika outbreak, but it has not been proven that the virus causes the defect. It may also cause brain defects in children born to infected mothers. There is no treatment for microcephaly.
“However, Zika could be here to stay”, the commentary said, comparing Zika to the West Nile Virus, another mosquito-borne disease unknown to the Western hemisphere until 1999 but now endemic in North America.
The health sector was asked to enhance the monitoring work at border areas, particularly among vehicles and passengers returning from Zika virus-hit areas. Symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis.
Since the airport thermal scanners might not be able to detect the infection, Ong said there should be clear guidelines for those who might develop the symptoms later. Perhaps the biggest concern is that so much about Zika is unknown.
Brazilian officials say they are handing out insect repellent – whose price has gone up since the Zika outbreak began a year ago – to 400,000 pregnant women on social welfare.
Once someone is tested for the Zika virus, he or she could wait up to two weeks for results. Additionally, at least four confirmed cases of Zika virus have been reported in the United States – three in NY and one in Boston. The chances of it arriving here may not be possible to estimate, but the infrastructure to tackle the virus is already here and used to counter dengue – which is carried by the same mosquito.
The Zika outbreak in 23 countries meets these conditions. Rather, it is transmitted when an infested mosquito bites a human, and then another mosquito bites the infected person.
For now, public health officials say they are mainly concerned about pregnant women who recently traveled to any of the affected countries. “You need a good grasp of all of that before you made a public health decision to put a scarce dollar into a Zika vaccine”.
Some local travel agents, however, said they’ve yet to see any clients change plans because of the virus.
Health officials are advising pregnant women and those planning pregnancy to adopt necessary anti-mosquito precautions, and consider deferring trips to areas with Zika virus transmissions.
There have been 35 reported cases of the virus in the United States, according to ABC’s consultations with health departments in all 50 states.
Long-term health consequences of Zika infection remain unclear.
Since the infection is spread through Aedes species mosquito (which bites during daytime) which is commonly seen in these countries, and since it causes foetal abnormalities, countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, and Jamaica have recommended that women delay pregnancy.
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While many are drawing parallels between Zika and Ebola, Latin American countries have a much stronger health infrastructure to deal with the outbreak than the African nations where Ebola struck.
