The agency is issuing this recommendation after CDC scientists tested samples provided by Brazilian health authorities from two infants with diagnosed microcephaly who died shortly after birth and from two pregnancies that ended in miscarriage. “She is now fully recovered”, says Umair Shah, the executive director of the Harris County Public Health and Environmental Studies.
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The CDC has issued a health advisory for pregnant women against traveling to 14 countries in the Americas to avoid the Zika virus. Women trying to become pregnant should also consult, it said. The CDC advises that it is possible that Zika could be spread through blood transfusion, though there are no documented cases of this. The ministry suspects the patients contracted Zika locally.
“That suggests a stronger and stronger relationship of Zika and microcephaly”. Additionally, travelers are “strongly urged” to treat their clothing and gear with a repellant called permethrin and sleep in rooms with screens and air conditioning, according to the CDC.
But in pregnant women, the virus can spread to the fetus and cause brain shrinkage or death.
We created a global Zika virus spread model by adapting a seasonal model for dengue that integrates global ecological niche data for Aedes aegypti and albopictus and worldwide temperature profiles.In Brazil, we identified airports within 50 km of areas conducive to year-round Zika virus transmission.
Barbados has recorded its first three cases of the Zika virus.
“We are not able to predict how much Zika virus will spread in the U.S.”, Petersen said.
While the symptoms in adults are usually short-lived and nothing more than a rash, fever, and joint pain, a staggering 3,500 Brazilian babies have been born with microcephaly in just the past year. The number there was less than 150 in 2014. There has been a 20-fold increase in the number of babies born with this condition, known as microcephaly, since Zika first appeared in Brazil in May 2015.
“I don’t think anybody has any idea how Zika is crossing the placenta into these fetuses, or why Zika is doing it and other closely related viruses like dengue don’t”, said Scott Weaver, director of the Institute for Human Infections and Immunity at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. “It isn’t as if it’s turning around and dying out, it’s getting worse and worse as the days go by”. More research is needed though to get to the root of the disease. Puerto Rico reported its first case of Zika two weeks ago, and 13 countries in Latin America have also seen infections. A case occurred in Canada when a traveler to a country where Zika was present became ill upon returning home.
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Canadian infectious disease specialists have already warned that the Summer Olympics, which will draw thousands to Rio this August, could be a catalyst for spreading the virus globally. “More studies are planned to learn more about the risks of Zika virus infection during pregnancy”, the agency stated.
