At least two cases of the Zika virus have been confirmed in the USA as more are expected to arise, Press TV reported.
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“We certainly have our share of mosquitoes in Hawaii, so that combined with the temperate climate we have and the certain environment, fosters the disease transmission”, said Keith Kawaoka, Environmental Health Administration Deputy Director. Imported cases have been reported in several European countries.
The government expects more than 600,000 people to become infected with the Zika virus in Colombia this year, and projects some 500 cases of microcephaly.
One person who tested positive for the virus is a pregnant woman living in New York City. In the United States, it is a very different situation from the Zika epidemic in Brazil, where there were an estimated 1 million people infected by Zika by the end of 2015.
Since 2014, cases of Zika virus, which is thought to be linked with severe birth defects, have been reported in various American countries, and the cases quickly increased in recent months.
Legacy Community Health warned pregnant patients to avoid travel to countries on Centers for Disease Control’s Zika Virus warning list. This recent outbreak has coincided with a large uptick in cases of microcephaly, a developmental condition in which affected children are born with abnormally small heads and underdeveloped brains.
It is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female Aedes mosquito, the same type that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The WHO is due to hold an emergency meeting on Monday to address the spread of the disease.
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The Georgia Department of Health says to wear long-sleeved shirts and trousers when in areas that have mosquitoes, use insect repellents containing DEET or other EPA-registered products, stay and sleep in screened in or air conditioned rooms, and dump out any standing water you might see in things like bird baths or old tires – that’s where mosquitoes like to breed. “It’s generally mild fever, rash, joint, muscle pain and conjunctivitis which is red, irritated eyes”.
