It’s worth noting that past Zika virus outbreaks haven’t seen a rise in microcephaly among newborns.
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Questions have also been raised over the uneven spread of microcephaly in areas affected by Zika, since nearly all of the linked cases have been in north-east Brazil.
“We do have Aedes aegypti mosquitoes [the mosquitoes that transmit the Zika virus] but they appear to be a different subspecies that prefer not to feed on people”.
Pino and Andreadis along with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy briefed reporters on the state’s preparations at the state Emergency Operations Center on Thursday.
To date, says the Pan American Health Organisation, cases of Zika virus disease have been reported in 26 countries in the Americas.
Microcephaly is marked by abnormally small head size that can result in developmental problems. It’s also hard to know what other factors might contribute to microcephaly without being able to track a pregnancy from the start and compare to healthy births. “Until we understand the biological mechanism linking Zika virus to microcephaly, we can not be certain that one causes the other”.
A blog post on the Symantec website said that citizens in Brazil, the country most affected by the Zika virus have seen the first set of spam emails related to the virus.
The government has said the Asian tiger mosquito has been cited for the spread of the virus, and that its control efforts will be centered on this insect. The symptoms of these diseases are similar those caused by Zika infection.
Ahead of the North Carolina Republican primary, Zika virus may just make its way into the political discourse.
“The ICAO is collaborating with the World Health Organization to ensure the aviation sector plays an important role in minimising the risk of spreading the disease internationally and travellers becoming infected especially women who may be pregnant”, Hotchkiss explained.
Andreadis said the likelihood is low that one of the 50 local species of mosquito here will pick up the Zika virus and transmit it. “He’s made the entire world into the Zika virus, something to be feared and excluded”, writes Todd Essig for Forbes.
For the most part, only about 1 in 5 people with Zika ever shows symptoms, which most commonly include fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes, though there have been cases of a temporary neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome associated with Zika.
But what’s needed now are studies showing how the Zika virus is actually capable of affecting the neuronal cells of fetuses, along with research showing the rate of potential risk for microcephaly in the event of Zika infection during pregnancy.
With possible deaths and the threat to pregnant women and their babies being born with serious birth defects, Deyalsingh pleaded with citizens not to politicise the issue to cause hysteria. He said the “overall goal” was to reduce the mosquito population.
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He said laboratory evidence has suggested that Wolbachia could also slow the spread of other viruses carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, including chikungunya and yellow fever virus. “Many of our clients have not yet told their employees not to travel, most have focused on to education and prevention [instead]”.
