Zika virus is the latest in the list of pathogens and has already been a cause of worry globally as no vaccinations has been discovered yet and the virus has a fast-spreading nature across continents. “We haven’t qualified, so talking about Rio right now for me is not something that’s in my scope”, Ellis said.
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Specialists welcomed the initiative, saying it showed how the global health community had learnt crucial lessons from West Africa’s Ebola epidemic, which killed more than 11,300 people.
American world No. 14 Brandt Snedeker said: “We’re used to being in different climates and different areas with many different concerns, not just the Zika virus or whatever it might be, so we realise the dangers when we do travel”.
The greater concern surrounding the virus stems from significant correlations between Zika infection in pregnant women and infants born with microcephaly – a birth defect resulting in underdeveloped brains and small skull sizes. But British rower Andrew Triggs Hodge said his wife Eeke would not accompany him because of the “very real and frightening threat” posed by Zika.
“Half of my 50 patients had Zika-like symptoms at some stage of their pregnancy”, said Melo.
According to the Pan-American Health Organization, 26 countries have confirmed cases, spanning 7,000 kilometers from Mexico to Paraguay.
A woman, who was originally diagnosed as having an “unspecified flavivirus infection” after returning from El Salvador in Central America in December, was retested earlier this month and it was confirmed she too had the virus. Dengue fever struck Key West in 2009, infecting 27 people, and again in 2011, infecting 66 people. City and Olympic officials say they will inspect venues and tourist attractions daily to ensure they are clear of puddles and other possible breeding sites for mosquitoes.
A 30-year-old Cleveland-area woman and a 21-year-old Stark County man, both recent travelers to Haiti, have the virus.
The Obama administration has asked Congress for $1.8 billion in emergency funding to fight Zika.
But Rep. Jeff Duncan, a California Republican who is chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, said Zika should not be dismissed. A further ultrasound at 32 weeks found evidence of microcephaly-a head circumference in the second percentile for gestation, and calcifications in the placenta and brain, suggesting damage from a virus. But he cautioned people not to overreact. “If folks are traveling to endemic areas, obviously take the usual precautions”.
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The US Olympic committee has told its sports federations that athletes and staff concerned for their health should consider not going to Rio.
