Meanwhile, U.S. health officials said men who have visited an area with Zika should use condoms if they have sex with a pregnant woman – for the entire duration of the pregnancy.
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This new warning is in addition to the one issued earlier advising pregnant women to avoid travel to areas where the Zika virus is active.
So far 26 countries have reported cases of Zika virus infection, namely Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Suriname, US Virgin Islands and Venezuela. The disease causes illness including joint pain and high fevers in people who contract it.
The U.N. human rights agency called for some nations to loosen strict laws against abortion and USA health authorities recommended men who have visited areas with the Zika virus use condoms if they have sex with pregnant women.
As per World Health Organization reports, Brazil reported its first case of Zika virus disease in May 2015. Generally women who have a letter confirming their pregnancy can postpone, switch destination and in some cases get a refund.
– The state of Florida has 12 cases of the Zika virus, all of them travel related.
At that point, he said, a single mosquito biting the affected person could spread the disease to others. Williams confirmed that one of the women was pregnant.
Brazil, the country hardest hit by Zika, is grappling with the virus even as it prepares to host the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in August.
“I think the impact to us is going to be more that we have school vacations coming, we have February break coming, we have April break coming, we have a lot of families with small children going to warm locations”.
Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeanette Young, has urged pregnant Queensland women not to travel to places where there have been Zika outbreaks.
Bruner said that he wants his students to know when an outbreak occurs with infectious diseases, it is important to be intentional about finding good and reliable information on the specific disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Zika virus outbreak is likely to spread throughout almost all the Americas.
“Rapid data sharing is critical during an unfolding health emergency”, it said.
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The virus has also been linked to a potentially paralysing nerve disorder called Guillain-Barre syndrome in some patients. In addition, people who become ill during or after returning home from foreign travel should contact their health care provider and mention their recent travel.
