Army soldiers conduct an inspection in a school during a national day of awareness to eradicate the Aedes aegypti mosquito, in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, Feb. 19, 2016.
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The mosquito-borne Zika virus, which has been spreading explosively in Latin America especially, is strongly suspected of causing a rapid rise in the number of children born with microcephaly – abnormally small heads and brains – in the hardest-hit country, Brazil.
“The general public is not at risk of contracting this virus, because the mosquitoes that transmit Zika are not established in Iowa”, IDPH Medical Director Dr. Patricia Quinlisk said in a press release. Zika had previously been viewed as a relatively mild illness, but concern over the possible links to birth defects prompted the World Health Organization to declare the outbreak an worldwide health emergency on February 1.
“This infection was acquired in Colombia before he visited Johannesburg”, said Motsoaledi.
Rousseff told students in Juazeiro that Aedes aegypti “is something that has to worry all of us, the president, the governor… and every one of the pupils here”.
He noted that the Olympic venues in Rio de Janeiro were located in a relatively confined area, which makes it easier to control the local mosquito population.
The first confirmed case of the Zika virus has been identified in Iowa. She says there have been some instances in the US of a man traveling to the countries with Zika and then transmitting it after they have sex with their partner.
Motsoaledi’s spokesperson Joe Maila said the businessman presented with fever and a rash about four days after he arrived in the country but he is now fully recovered. Since the activation of the new Zika-specific hotline, the health department has been getting huge volumes of calls especially from out-of-state tourists who are concerned about getting infected especially in places where mosquitoes are particularly common according to a TC Palm news report.
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But at another school, Rousseff said the most important tactic in the government’s declared war on mosquitoes is to clear up water pools.
