In the absence of a vaccine against Zika, Brazil is mounting a huge operation to eradicate the mosquito responsible for carrying the virus.
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Brazil’s cases of microcephaly could be explained by previous underreporting or another factor not present in Colombia, Gaviria said, especially because the country has historically registered more cases than Brazil, though its population is one-fourth the size. The women’s fetuses had also been diagnosed with microcephaly, a birth defect where babies are born with abnormally small heads and an increased likelihood of incomplete brain development.
The Health Ministry reported on Wednesday a total of 4,443 suspected and confirmed cases of microcephaly, up from 4,314 a week earlier.
Deyalsingh said the woman recently travelled to New Zealand, although noting that country had no confirmed cases of the virus.
Comparing the Zika outbreak to Ebola, which had killed as many as 11,300 people in two years, Gostin said that World Health Organization did not learn the “fundamental lesson” from it. In some cases, vomiting and muscle pain are also reported. To date, there have been no cases of Zika entering the blood supply in the United States, but the FDA is taking measures to ensure it stays that way.
The agency recommends the same four-week deferral for people who have shown symptoms of the virus or had sexual contact with someone who has traveled to a Zika-affected region in the past three months.
However, guesses indicate that it should not be more than 10 days but nevertheless, probably the studies under way in Brazil will give an answer to this and perhaps provide a further understanding of the clinical concerns of Zika transmission.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued recommendations to reduce the risk for Zika virus blood transmission in the country. Dr. Dobbs said research is finding the virus can also be sexually transmitted. The Aedes aegypti is a vector for transmitting the Zika virus. This study reports details of the Zika virus being identified directly in the amniotic fluid of a woman during her pregnancy, suggesting that the virus could cross the placental barrier and potentially infect the foetus. While the women’s blood and urine samples tested negative for Zika, their amniotic fluid tested positive for the virus genome and for Zika antibodies. The U.S.is nowhere near ready to begin testing on a mass scale and some scientists argue that it isn’t even responsible for the birth defects that have emerged in Brazil. People living in or traveling to those areas are at risk for infection.
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The World Health Organization said it will back clinical trials of developing genetically modified mosquitoes that will help cure diseases contracted by the Zika virus.
