But there have been miscarriages reported in Brazil, the epicentre of a Zika epidemic that now spans almost three dozen countries. Researchers say they found the virus in the bodies of people who died in April, June and October.
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Zika is not fatal and, for most people who contract the mosquito-borne virus, symptoms mimic the flu: fever, ache, and perhaps red eye or rash, The virus then leaves the system in five days.
“This is the strongest evidence to date that Zika is the cause of microcephaly”, CDC Director Tom Frieden told members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
He said the Health Ministry also has reached vaccine partnerships with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is looking to work with pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline because of its role developing a vaccine against Ebola after a deadly outbreak in West Africa in 2014.
“So we called our doctor and she just advised that upon return we wait a few months before trying to have a baby”, Chelsea said.
The Zika virus, which is spread by mosquito bites and sexual contact and causes microcephaly in newborns, is rapidly becoming a larger global concern and needs a priority to nations world-wide.
The Obama administration action also followed a new advisory from the CDC that pregnant women with a male sex partner who has traveled to, or lives in, an area affected by active Zika virus transmission should refrain from sex or use condoms until the pregnancy is over.
Prior to past year, Zika virus outbreaks occurred in parts of Africa, southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, the CDC stated.
“Zika is new, and new diseases can be scary, particularly when they can affect the most vulnerable among us”, Frieden said.
The Zika virus is suspected of causing a rare but potentially devastating birth defect, an abnormally small head, which can indicate underlying brain damage.
Chevron Corp, which has significant operations in Brazil and Venezuela, is among companies with a more expansive policy that allows any concerned employee to opt out of travel, spokesman Kurt Glaubitz said. Let’s keep in mind the 2016 Olympics are going to be held in Rio, Brazil – now they have around 4,000 cases of the Zika virus documented. “Based on what we know now, the primary threat is to unborn children”. Yolo County officials declined to identify the individual or provide specifics, such as gender, but said the person had contracted a mild case of Zika and was doing fine.
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The Aeges aegypti mosquito is linked to spreading the bad disease which health experts now associate with birth defects and neurological disorders.
