“The mortality rate is not very high, but it can be deadly”, she added.
Advertisement
The condition sees the immune system attack the nervous system, causing weakness and sometimes paralysis or even death, but most Guillain-Barre patients recover.
The rapid spread of the Zika virus isn’t just causing fear among pregnant women who worry that their babies might be born with damaged brains. Research in Brazil indicates the greatest microcephaly risk appears to be associated with infection during the first trimester of pregnancy.
Many Latin American countries outlaw abortion or allow it only if the mother’s life is in danger.
El Salvador tops the list of countries targeted by Planned Parenthood and other abortion advocacy groups, since it has been called the nation with “the world’s strictest anti-abortion law”.
They said this marked the first time the virus had been detected in either fluid.
At this time, there is no treatment or vaccine for the Zika virus.
“Avoid sharing glasses, silverware, contact with someone who has symptoms of a possible infection”.
“In light of the possibility of being in contact with someone who is infected, do not kiss, obviously”, Dr. Paulo Gadelha, the foundation’s president, told reporters.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently directed men to take certain precautions including abstaining from sex with pregnant partners if they have traveled to an area affected by the mosquito-borne disease.
Although the Zika virus is mostly transmitted when a mosquito bites a human infected with the virus, then goes on to bite another human, some rare cases of sexual transmission via semen have been documented in the past, and a person in Dallas, Texas recently got infected via sexual transmission.
Puerto Rican health authorities have reported three new cases of Zika, raising the total to 22.
Mosquitoes have played a major role in the Zika outbreak, which was declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization on Monday.
The Blood Service has an online tool donors can use to search whether they are eligible to donate based on the countries they have visited. The virus is known to exist in tropical areas like Africa, the Americas, southern Asia and western Pacific.
Another man, who had suffered gunshot wounds, became infected with Zika after receiving multiple blood transfusions that included blood donated by an infected person in April 2015, Carvalho said.
Area colleges and other groups that sponsor worldwide trips are informing their communities about the Zika virus but are not curtailing travel despite the global spread of the virus, including a handful of cases here in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Advertisement
“Brazil is in a particularly hard position” given the scope of the country’s microcephaly outbreak, she said. For the 20% who display symptoms, the illness is mild and may include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis.
