Health officials are advising pregnant women to consider postponing travel to areas where the Zika virus transmission is active.
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After taking patients’ blood samples, he said, the institute noticed that numerous samples were not infected by dengue fever virus, and carried out further research into the samples.
Jamaica has confirmed its first case of the Zika mosquito-borne virus, the country’s Ministry of Health announced.
Only one of the four cases is likely to develop symptoms, such as low-grade fever, joint pain, red eyes, rash, muscle pain, physical weakness, lethargy and headaches, which may last from two to seven days.
According to the United Nations health agency, the risk of Zika-infected travellers entering Europe is increasing.
The virus is transmitted through mosquitoes, and once a prenant woman is infected, it can spread to her fetus.
Health Canada says our climate makes it unlikely they’ll make their way up here. It is recommended that pregnant women or people who believe they could become pregnant should speak to their doctors before travelling.
“We prepare for the possibility of a major outbreak but in reality you have to say we believe, we don’t know, we believe that it is unlikely that it would happen”.
Zika virus is believed to cause neurological problems like microcephaly, a condition of abnormally small head in babies. The virus is also associated with higher risk of congenital malformations in newborn when pregnant women are affected. Metro Health officials added that the six had traveled to a variety of South American countries, and none of them are pregnant.
The WHO said on Sunday the rapid spread of Zika in the Americas was due to a lack of immunity among a population that had not been previously exposed to the virus.
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Unfortunately, there is no vaccine for Zika and a lot of research still needs to be done on the impact the virus has on people and expectant mothers.
