Since last May, people living in more than 30 countries and territories mainly in Central and South America and the Caribbean have been infected with Zika virus, which was discovered in the Zika Forest in Uganda in 1947.
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Zika is a virus transmitted by the Aedes mosquitoes that causes mild symptoms like fever, rash and muscle ache in about 20 percent of people infected with it. The rest show no signs of the illness.
Zika, spread primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, can not be spread person to person through casual contact. While many areas have the type of mosquitos that can spread the virus, the agency says that “recent outbreaks in the continental United States of chikungunya and dengue, which are spread by the same type of mosquito, have been relatively small and limited to a small area”.
The department says there have been no confirmed locally-acquired cases of Zika in the continental USA, but data from the Centers for Disease Control says 193 travel-associated cases have been reported. Pregnant women are encouraged to avoid traveling to areas with active Zika transmission.
There is no vaccine to prevent Zika infection and no medicine to treat the virus. The messages provide important information on items to bring on vacation and where the Zika virus is being transmitted.
Since the first San Antonio Zika virus case was reported in February, more reports of the disease in the Alamo City have emerged weekly. A positive correlation between babies born with microcephaly and women infected with the Zika virus is being investigated in Brazil due to an outbreak of the virus and an increased number of babies born with microcephaly.
She added that the DOH wants to wants to establish a uniform case definition of suspected Zika cases.
Public health officials are especially concerned about a potential link between the virus and a rare but serious birth defect called microcephaly.
The country’s previous cases all involved people who had visited Venezuela.
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Meanwhile, Alwan said that Kuwait and other Gulf states are among the world’s countries with highest rates of diabetics, warning that the rate in Kuwait is most likely to steadily rise in case lifestyle continues as it is. Therefore, transmission of the virus from human-to-mosquito and then from mosquito-to-human is extremely unlikely. Travelers should protect themselves from mosquito bites by covering exposed skin with long-sleeved shirts and long trousers and using insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus during both the day and night.
