Oroville While there is mounting concern about the global spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, including a positive test in Yolo County, Butte County health officials said there is no immediate risk for local transmission. The news comes days after officials said that a pregnant woman in the northern state of Queensland tested positive Tuesday.
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Health Minister Jill Hennessy said on Friday the woman was diagnosed earlier this week by her obstetrician after she showed infection-like symptoms including fever and a rash.
Health authorities said Thursday they have identified a third death in Brazil linked to the Zika virus, but it is not clear if the disease was the sole cause.
Also Thursday, Brazilian health officials said they had entered into an agreement with the University of Texas to develop a Zika vaccine, with the hope that it would be ready for clinical testing within a year, the Associated Press reported.
Dr Noor Hisham said the ministry had also issued an administrative instruction to all state health departments and professional bodies representing private medical practitioners on Feb 4 to strengthen their monitoring and management procedure for the Zika virus threat.
In all three cases the Zika virus was found in the placenta.
The Zika virus has caused birth defects and miscarriages in Latin America and the Caribbean, officials said.
Microcephaly is a birth defect in which a baby’s head is smaller than expected, and scientists are still working to establish a conclusive link between the virus and microcephaly and other neurological disorders.
“Our knowledge of what is now in the pipeline tells us that it will take approximately 18 months before a vaccine can be launched into large scale trial to demonstrate efficacy”, Kieny told reporters in Geneva.
The country has confirmed 404 cases of Zika-linked microcephaly and 3,670 others are under study.
Zika Virus belongs to the flavivirus group of viruses to which Yellow Fever and Dengue viruses also belong.
Contributor Nadia Sussman spent some time talking with women in Rio de Janeiro about the virus.
Brazil, the epicenter of the Zika outbreak in the Americas, has seen a surge in babies born with this condition, called microcephaly.
“However, we are advising all people, but especially pregnant women, or women who may be trying or intending to get pregnant, to avoid travelling to those countries and places where there has been Zika outbreaks”.
Only about 20 percent of people infected with Zika virus will become ill.
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But he says because we’re still learning about the virus, there’s no definitive answer. “Pedro Vasconcelos is very optimistic about the work being done and believes that within a year we could have the vaccine in its developed form, not in its applied form”, said Castro.
