On Monday, the Ministry of Health and National Environment Agency confirmed four more locally transmitted cases, bringing the total to 333, including eight pregnant women.
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Earlier this summer, the Food and Drug Administration asked blood centers in two Florida counties to immediately stop collection because of possible local transmission of the Zika virus. According to an Atlantic County public health officer, the local resident who had been infected is recovering nicely.
However the Ministry of Health of Brazil has reported an increase in the numbers of newborns with microcephaly in areas experiencing Zika virus outbreaks.
According to reports, seven nationalities have been affected in the city state nation, including six from Malaysia, one from Indonesia, and 23 from mainland China, while countries including Hong Kong and Australia has issued travel advisories for visitors to Singapore.
Singapore said Tuesday it is investigating the severity of its locally transmitted Zika virus, amid a rising number of cases.
As more studies are being conducted on the effects of the mosquito-borne virus, researchers learn that adults can also experience unwanted health effects because of Zika infection such as Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a sickness of the nervous system. However, in a previous study of pregnant monkeys infected with Zika, the virus did not appear to make its way into the fetus’s brain tissue, as it does in humans.
Health officials till now were playing down the risks arising from the increasing number of the Zika cases in the area. “Finding new cases can help lead us to answers during an investigation, and while we’re happy nobody else was infected, the lack of additional cases leaves many questions unanswered”.
Zika virus is acquired through bites from infected Aedes aegypti mosquitos, the same type of mosquito that spreads dengue and chikungunya.
The advisory warns that pregnant women and those planning a pregnancy should avoid traveling to those countries.
South Korea, Australia and Israel have all reported imported cases of Zika infection this year, Liu said.
The CDC has confirmed that the Zika virus is responsible for causing severe defects in unborn children, including microcephaly, which leaves babies with abnormally small heads and often with brains that do not develop properly. She was subsequently discharged the following day.
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Individuals suffering from rashes, joint pains and red eyes, Ubial said, must visit the nearest health facility to confirm if they have contracted the Zika virus.
