At the time of the analysis, local transmission of Zika virus had been confirmed in 40 countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean (at the time, no cases of local transmission had been reported in the USA). Dr. Theel says, “Providers caring for pregnant women who test positive for antibodies to Zika virus by this screening test may begin to monitor the pregnancy more closely and sooner while they wait for confirmatory testing to return from the CDC”. “This find is disappointing, but not surprising”, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam said in a statement Thursday.
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Local officials said 95 more mosquito samples each one containing several dozen bugs have tested negative since the three traps were found.
The ministry has started control activities such as eliminating mosquito breeding sites and fog spraying in her residential area and other places that the patient had visited.
Singapore’s cramped urban setting has made it a vulnerable target for spread of the mosquito-borne Zika virus, but the disease has proven to be mild and most of the people have recovered.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that federal funds to combat the Zika virus are almost exhausted and there will be no money to fight a new outbreak unless Congress approves more funding.
The virus is not considered unsafe for most people, but can cause severe neurological defects in infants born to women infected during pregnancy. We are working with our testing partners to meet the 12-week implementation window for the new Zika virus test. These countries receive a combination of high volumes of travelers from Zika-affected areas, have mosquitos capable of transmitting Zika virus, climate conditions conducive to local spread, and limited health resources.
As of Thursday, the Florida Department of Health said it has counted 49 cases of locally transmitted Zika infections in people in the state. “But we see now [in Florida] that even countries with good public health infrastructure suffer a strain of available health and human resources with Zika”.
A traveller walks past a travel advisory on the Zika virus infection in Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The virus can also cause Guillain-Barré Syndrome, an uncommon sickness where the immune system attacks the nerves in the body.
Dengue is not spread by sex, like Zika, but mosquitoes are responsible for the vast majority of Zika cases globally.
The US Congress has failed to reach an agreement on emergency Zika funding after President Barack Obama requested US$1.9 billion ($2.6 billion) for mosquito control, development of vaccines and diagnostics and other efforts to combat Zika. Second, educate all employees going to Zika-infected areas about the risks involved and the best practices for staying safe.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said sexual transmission is “relatively common” and has advised pregnant women not to travel to areas with ongoing outbreaks of Zika virus.
Thirteen Indians in Singapore have been tested positive for Zika virus and are now being treated at hospitals in the city-state.
The Zika virus garnered global attention in 2015 after areas of Brazil noted a spike in cases of the birth defect microcephaly – a condition marked by abnormally small heads, brains, and developmental delays – following a recent outbreak of the virus in areas of northeastern Brazil.
“Today, we learned of the first mosquitoes that have tested positive for the Zika virus in our state”.
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I refer to the report “Zika spreads; first pregnant woman diagnosed” (Sept 1).
