Aylward also said there is a “probability” that the Zika virus will have “gone through” a large portion of the country’s population by then, so many Brazilians might have developed an immunity to the disease by the start of the August 5-21 games.
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The Zika virus illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week and hospitalizations are rare.
There is now no cure or vaccine for Zika, so in a bid to beat it, affected countries have declared war on the Aedes aegypti, trying to wipe out breeding spots, kill larvae either with chemicals or with fish that feed on them, and fumigation to kill off adult mosquitos.
While scientists have found indications of Zika infections in brains of babies with this malformation, known as microcephaly, as well as in placenta tissue, they have yet to find out exactly what role the virus plays.
Public-health officials advise that the best way to prevent transmission of the virus is for people to protect themselves from mosquito bites by draining standing water, covering their skin with repellant and clothing, and covering windows with screens.
Mexico and Cuba would take the worst hits by dollar value this year, it said, reducing their GDP by $744 million and $664 million, respectively, as it expects the virus to cause a drop-off in Caribbean tourism.
“I am not waiting for the Zika virus to be identified in Michigan”, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said in his State of the County speech last week.
These initial projections of the economic impact of the disease are based on the expectation of “a swift, well-coordinated global response to the Zika virus” and on the assumption that the most significant health risks are for pregnant women, the bank noted. However, over 4,000 babies in Brazil have reportedly been born with severe birth defects, including microcephaly (small head), and the reason is theorized to be connected to the Zika virus.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed the first case of Zika virus infection in an N.C. resident.
The latest figure was up from 462 confirmed cases on Friday, the health ministry said.
The Zika virus has been linked to birth defects in babies. The agency has advised women who are pregnant or seeking to become pregnant to avoid areas where the virus is being transmitted.
There have been far fewer reported cases in Colombia and Venezuela.
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Olivia James, a DHHS spokeswoman, said the patient no longer has symptoms of the Zika infection.
