Wendy Kline, the Dema G. Seelye Chair in the History of Medicine, can talk about how the Zika virus affects women’s reproductive health from a social standpoint, as women in certain areas are told to delay pregnancies due to the virus causing birth defects.
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Brazil was the first country to sound the alarm on the apparent link with birth defects after health authorities noticed a surge in babies born with microcephaly coinciding with the outbreak.
The virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads dengue fever and the chikungunya virus.
Someone in Texas has acquired the Zika virus through local transmission, meaning it’s been passed from one person to another inside the country.
Zika is transmitted by the bite of an infected female Aedes mosquito and breeds in countires where the temperature is consistently high enough.
The most common symptoms of Zika virus disease are fever, rashes, joints pain and conjunctivitis. “Patients are highly encouraged to follow prevention recommendations to avoid transmitting and spreading Zika virus”.
At present, the possibility of the Zika viral disease spreading in the Sultanate is very low, Oman’s Ministry of Health (MoH), said in a statement. Expectant mothers in the early months of gestation are most at risk of infection with Zika, which is thought to slow the growth of the brain of the fetus at a crucial stage of development.
Health officials on Monday added American Samoa, Costa Rica, Curacao (koor-uh-SOW’) and Nicaragua to the list of places with outbreaks where travelers should take precautions against the mosquito-borne virus.
The announcement came after World Health Organization convened its first emergency committee meeting on Zika virus, Xinhua reported.
It has since become the worst affected country, with some 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly, of which 270 have been confirmed.
The CDC said it did not investigate how the virus was transmitted. The ministry has taken steps to prevent its spread: Such as alerting healthcare providers and the public about the disease, mode of transmission and prevention, providing diagnostic tests at the Central Public Health Laboratory, which is expected to arrive in the Sultanate in next few weeks.
Up to 80% of people infected with Zika do not show any symptoms, but doctors say that pregnant women should be worn.
Infections have been reported in 13 countries in the Americas, according to World Health Organization, as well as in Asia, and in Africa, from where it originated.
U.S. House members are asking government health officials for more information on the Zika virus.
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Jaques Wagner, the chief of staff for Brazil president Dilma Rousseff, said Monday there was no risk to athletes unless “they are pregnant women”.
