The Centre on Friday made a decision to constitute a technical group to monitor Zika virus situation. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which the World Health Organization said is “spreading explosively” through the Americas and may lead to as many as four million cases in the region.
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“The Zika fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the Zika virus (ZIKV), which manifests itself with moderate fever, skin rash, headaches, joints and muscle pain or soreness, fatigue, red eyes”. “However, a large majority of people who contract the virus are asymptomatic, and in the case where a person feels symptoms, they are usually mild”.
All the people diagnosed with the virus had returned to NY from countries where the Zika virus is ongoing.
Update (2:19 p.m.): The Canadian Blood Services has confirmed they will be “revising their eligibility criteria for donors to mitigate the risk of the Zika virus entering Canadian blood supply”. She tells us, “Just because we don’t know so much”.
It was first reported in a monkey living in the Zika Forest in Uganda in 1947, and spread to humans in Africa and Asia within a few years. “More research is still needed on transmission and effects of this disease”.
The Zika virus, which is linked to children being born with small heads, poses several challenges. This mosquito also carries the viruses that cause Dengue and Chikungunya which are of great public health concern in tropical countries like India. Pregnant women are mostly affected by this virus.
The Ministry for Health and Medical Services says no Zika virus case has been recorded in Fiji so far.
The United States is expected to start vaccine trials in people by the end of the year.
It is responsible for brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil. For that reason, the CDC is recommending that women who are pregnant or may become pregnant not to travel to the 24 countries where the disease is widespread.
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“We want to be clear that Zika can not be transmitted through casual contact”, Dr. Robinson said on a conference call with reporters.
