Fauci said controlling mosquitoes that could carry Zika is key, and the United States has one big advantage.
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No locally transmitted Zika cases from mosquitoes have been reported in the continental US, but cases have been reported in travelers returning from areas where Zika is present.
She stressed that as of today, cases have been reported in 23 countries and territories in the region.
“It was inevitable that cases of imported Zika would arrive to Peru”, Velasquez said at a news conference.
The Zika virus, which was first reported in Brazil in 2014, is a mosquito-transmitted infection related to dengue, yellow fever and West Nile virus, according to WHO.
Official figures show 96 pregnant women are suspected of having contracted the virus, but so far none have had babies born with microcephaly.
The mosquito-borne illness has spread to 22 countries in the Americas, including Brazil.
The WHO has called a crisis meeting for Monday to determine the global response to Zika, linked to birth defects in babies, saying it’s “spreading explosively”.
For adults who are not pregnant or are not going to be, infection is not considered serious.
GENEVA (AP) – The World Health Organization has announced that the explosive spread of the Zika virus in the Americas is an “extraordinary event” that merits being declared an global emergency.
Dr. Horacio Arruda, Quebec’s director of public health, said earlier Friday that the case in that province surfaced after a woman returned from the Caribbean with flu-like symptoms in early January. In India, we have to double mosquito control measures since our tropical weather leads to the prevalence of the Aedes mosquito and the immunity levels of much of the population are low.
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The CDC has now passed down guidelines for doctors to ask patients about their travel history if they are showing symptoms, including fever, rash, conjunctivitis and joint pain.
