Colombia says it’s had about 16,500 suspected cases of Zika, though only a small fraction have been confirmed by laboratory tests.
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According to Dr. Saul, one in five people infected with Zika virus will come down with mild symptoms which can last up to a week. Zika virus infection may go unrecognized or be misdiagnosed as dengue, chikungunya or other viral infections causing fever and rash. Two have been reported in B.C., said the B.C. Centre for Disease control, bringing the total number of Canadian cases to three.
Health minister JP Nadda held a high-level meeting to take stock of the situation in view of the recent cases of Zika virus being reported from some countries in the presence of senior officials from the ministry and AIIMS.
Earlier figures from the health ministry showed 560 pregnant women had the disease, out of more than 13,500 infections. The U.S. government recommended then against nonessential travel to the region, and federal health officials met planes, cargo ships and cruise ships arriving from China in their effort to contain the spread of SARS.
Zika has sickened more than a million Brazilians since May, and may be the cause – although it’s not certain yet – of a serious birth defect. No locally transmitted Zika cases from mosquitoes have been reported in the continental USA, but cases have been reported in travelers returning from areas where Zika is present.
Gregory Taylor said Friday that two people from British Columbia, one from Alberta and another from Quebec contracted the virus overseas.
Oxitec is now building a new “mosquito factory” that will give it the capacity to breed and release enough dud insects to cover an area with a population of 300,000.
While mosquitoes are the main source of transmission, but there are other possibilities, Taylor said.
The health authority also warned people to empty water containers and use mosquito nets to prevent the possible spread of the virus.
An executive for JetBlue, which flies to many destinations in the Caribbean and a few in Central and South America, said Thursday that there has been little effect so far from the outbreak. But the military said this week it will assign 100 doctors to help in detecting and treating cases.
At a media briefing Thursday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said a review of blood donation policies was underway, based on whether a person may have been exposed to the virus that has been linked to thousands of birth defects in Brazil.
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Rousseff announced the offensive against the mosquito following a videoconference with five Brazilian state governors and six Cabinet members. That makes it harder to know if someone is infected, Schuchat said.
