The National Health Institute reported that Colombia now has 20,297 cases of Zika infection, 2,116 in pregnant women.
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World Health Organization said European countries should be ready to detect and manage Zika infection in travellers from affected countries.
At least 31 people have been infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus in the United States.
He said Malaysians in general, did not have immunity to the disease as it was still not found in the country. It was subsequently realized that one of the samples was infected by the Zika virus. Those areas include Mexico and parts of Central and South America.
“So that would lend to some biologic plausibility that it’s Zika virus responsible for the microcephaly”, said Simor, adding that women who are pregnant or plan to get pregnant should think twice about travelling to areas rife with cases of infection, unless they have no choice.
Taylor says there is little to no risk of contracting the virus in Canada since mosquitoes that transmit the virus are not adaptable to the climate.
Secretary for Food and Health Dr. Ko Wing-man also said that because only up to one quarter of the infected persons might develop relatively mild illness, “the attention was therefore not too big”. The situation is so serious that El Salvador is recommending that all women refrain from getting pregnant until 2018.
Rousseff spoke after a videoconference meeting Friday to discuss the Aedes aegypti mosquito with five state governors and six Cabinet members.
Zika is now at epidemic levels in Brazil, causing considerable worry among many expectant mothers.
She Brazil will lose the war against the insect unless all of society mobilizes to eliminate the pools of stagnant water that serve as the mosquito’s breeding grounds.
Health Minister Isaac Folorunso Adewole is urging health professionals at all ports of entry to examine anyone coming from Latin America for signs of the Zika virus.
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The virus has been linked with microcephaly, which can leave affected newborns with unusually small heads and abnormal brain development. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has activated an emergency operations center staffed around the clock to address Zika, agency officials told Reuters.
