Dr Ian Njeru, Head of Disease Surveillance and Response at the Ministry of Health said a health alert was issued a fortnight ago to health workers at the various points of entry to look out for persons with symptoms that could be associated with Zika Virus.
Advertisement
The WHO’s Chan said that while a direct causal relationship between Zika virus infection and birth malformations has not yet been established, it is strongly suspected.
In South America, panic runs high due to the connection of the Zika virus with Microcephaly, in which a baby is born with a small head and brain. The agency said that the virus was spreading dangerously in the Americas, with an explosive infections of four million. Other symptoms include muscle pain, joint pain, headache, pain behind the eyes and conjunctivitis.
The aim was to release only male Aedes mosquitoes into the wild and they would in turn produce offspring with their virus carrying female counterparts. Friday’s statement says he’s urging Nigerians to tell health workers about any cases of unexplained fevers that last more than 48 hours, especially in those with recent travels to Latin America.
The child’s parents and family have been contacted and briefed by a team from the Ministry of Health.
Even as the Zika virus spreads explosively, the World Health Organization (WHO) creates an emergency team to address the spread after an emergency committee was called by the world health body on Monday.
Former Health Minister Jose Oletta says the country normally sees 30 to 40 cases of Guillain-Barre a month and said the large number now indicates that Zika infections are far greater than the roughly 4,500 suspected cases than officials acknowledge. HealthGrove visualized the spread of the virus, then examined how it might impact abortion laws in certain countries.
However, several senior health experts have claimed in a World health Organisation meeting that the Zika virus outbreak is capable of becoming a bigger global health threat than the Ebola epidemic, which killed more than 11,000 people in Africa, reports The Guardian.
There are so far no reported cases of microcephaly or deaths from the virus in Colombia.
“The good news is we are right now ahead of the virus”.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama’s administration’s concern was focused mostly on pregnant women or women who could become pregnant, given the link to microcephaly. They should wear mosquito-repellent, long-sleeved shirts and long trousers and staying indoors where screens are tight-fitting. However, a Texas State professor cautions against panic about the Zika virus.
Advertisement
This week, in an act of desperation, El Salvador has advised all women in the country to avoid getting pregnant until 2018, according to a New York Times story.
