Currently, 58 countries and territories are affected by the Zika virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American national health agency.
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Aerial insecticide spraying against mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus has pushed through in Miami Beach, Florida despite protests from the public.
Microcephaly, a congenital defect causing incomplete brain development, thus, resulted to abnormal smallness of the head of a baby, is one of the effects of Zika virus.
President Barack Obama in February asked Congress for $1.9 billion in emergency spending to fight Zika.
Information for this article was contributed by Andrew Taylor and Danica Coto of The Associated Press.
The funding for combatting the disease has become bogged down in political mire as Congress looks to pass a bill to fund the government through October 1.
Meanwhile, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said yesterday in its regular update that most countries and regions are showing a declining Zika trend, including the Caribbean area that includes Puerto Rico.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the primary carrier of the Zika virus; however, the Aedes albopictus can also carry the disease. The WHO said, as in Guinea-Bissau, which has seen a spurt of infections from the African Zika strain, it’s too soon to rule out the possibility of microcephaly and other neurologic complications.
Zika infection is characterized by fever lasting for two to seven days, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis.
“We are concerned that the naled actually has more of a potential risk of creating the problems we are trying to avert than the actual concern with Zika”, explained protester Brik Viera. That finding strengthened the suspected link between infection with the virus and the syndrome, which causes temporary paralysis in its victims.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month warned pregnant women to reconsider visits to areas where Zika is present.
In August, the Food and Drug Administration asked all US blood banks to start screening for the virus. Nearly 3,000 people in the continental USA have been found to have Zika, and the total is far higher since most people don’t display symptoms.
Business owners are anxious for federal health officials to lift a travel advisory warning pregnant women and their partners to avoid parts of Miami and South Beach that have been identified as zones of active transmission of the Zika virus.
They are also advised to adopt safe sex practices for at least six months and women should delay pregnancy for at least six months, whether or not they develop symptoms of the virus, Chuang said. The CDC is advising that pregnant women avoid traveling to those areas of Miami where infections are occurring to reduce their risk of contracting Zika.
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This Q & A will tell you what you need to know about Zika.
