Its officer Dr Shameer Khan Sulaiman said even though Malaysia is not affected by the outbreaks of Zika virus, the approach is necessary as an initiative to eradicate Aedes mosquitos that is the major spreading agent of the virus.
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The CDC advises men who might have been exposed to Zika to consider abstaining or using a condom. Researchers have identified evidence of Zika infection in 41 of these cases, either in the baby or in the mother. Breitbart News reported Brazilian medical experts documented more than 4,000 cases of microcephaly, diagnosing 200 cases per week.
In December 2015, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a US territory, reported its first confirmed Zika virus case.
In a statement, the World Health Organization reiterated it was not recommending any general travel or trade restrictions related to the virus.
Pregnant women anxious about Zika could have an amniocentesis, a test in which doctors withdraw a small amount of the amniotic fluid that surrounds a fetus at 13 weeks of pregnancy.
Many scientists are convinced that a solid link exists between the Zika virus and neurological disorders, and the recent finding of virus in the brain of an aborted fetus has added to the evidence. “One, is a DNA vaccine from US National Institute For Health, and the second is inactivated product from Bharat Biotech, an Indian vaccine manufacturer”, said Kieny. Health officials are urging Dallas County residents to dump standing water around their homes to prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
While a usable vaccine remains a priority, Kieny underscored that advances in testing were also urgently needed.
“We are absolutely sure of the causal relationship between microcephaly and Zika”, he said, adding that government researchers were unanimous in their assessment: “It has nothing to do with the environment, nothing to do with race, nothing to do with gender”.
Improved diagnostic tests also are viewed as critical to fighting the disease and Kieny said new test kits were being rapidly developed and could be available in weeks.
This case may have informed the agency’s advice on avoiding sexual transmission of Zika virus.
Two additional Zika infections were confirmed Friday in Florida, raising the statewide total to 20 reported cases, including seven in Miami-Dade and three in Broward counties, the Department of Health said.
There is no vaccine for Zika.
An earlier report from French Polynesia, published past year in Emerging Infectious Diseases, revealed that traces of virus were found in the semen of a man infected there during an outbreak in 2013.
An outbreak in the Americas, originating in Brazil, is suspected of causing cases of a serious birth defect, microcephaly, and a potentially crippling disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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People become infected when they are bitten by a mosquito carrying the virus which stays in a person’s bloodstream for about one week.
