Share

World Health Organization calls Zika virus ‘most likely explanation’ for brain abnormalities

There was a first documented case of a man catching the virus through anal sex in February 2016 and a suspicion of Zika transmission through oral sex in April.

Advertisement

Florida so far is the only US state to record locally acquired cases of the Zika virus, although thousands of people across the country have contracted the illness after traveling overseas. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File PhotoSingapore said on Thursday it did not know if the Zika virus detected in the country could cause the same birth defects and other disorders linked to an outbreak in Latin America.

Zika researchers are increasingly considering alternative routes of transmission because the virus is spreading more quickly than would be expected by mosquito-borne transmission alone.

The Zika virus has been around for many decades, but relatively small outbreaks until now mean doctors are constantly learning more about the virus and what it can do.

Western Visayas epidemiologist Dr. Glen Alonsabe said a three-member team from the Department of Health (DOH) central office was assisting health personnel in the region in gathering more information on the case.

The WHO has documented cases of the virus being transmitted through vaginal, anal and oral sex.

The DOH will also assist patients categorized as Zika suspects (with symptoms such as skin rash with fever, conjunctivitis and joint pains) for confirmatory laboratory tests at the RITM.

There have been no obvious signs that Beijing is especially nervous about a Zika outbreak in China, aside from ordering the stepped-up checks on travellers. The elderly man died in July after contracting Zika from travel overseas, but his son did not leave the country and the mosquitoes known to spread the disease are not found in their area.

Singaporean pre-school teacher Siti is determined to try for a baby even as Zika infections spread across the Southeast Asian nation.

The company’s male mosquitoes, which do not bite or transmit diseases, are released to breed with wild female mosquitoes, and the offspring die, reducing the mosquito population, the website said.

Health officials in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador and Jamaica, as well as in Puerto Rico, suggested that women put off getting pregnant.

Johnson County recently got a $3,000 grant for Zika prevention, which will be used to treat areas where mosquitoes are breeding.

Advertisement

There are steps you can take to protect yourself and help prevent the spread of Zika in Georgia.

The Florida Department of Health has identified two areas in Miami with active transmission of Zika virus