The official said that eight of the 10 cases are people between ages 15-57, while the other two are children under age 5. All three patients had recently traveled outside the United States to countries that have been affected by the outbreak, and all three are expected to fully recover. Unlike its cousin dengue, which can cause high fever and joint pain, Zika produces symptoms, including mild fever and rash, that are often so light that people don’t know they have the disease.
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The rise in reported cases is now inciting health officials to warn women in the region to avoid pregnancy until the virus, for which there is no vaccine, is more widely understood. According to the World Health Organization, the virus is now spreading in 21 countries, all in South and Central America, including Mexico, Chile, and Puerto Rico.
“In Brazil, we identified airports within 50 km of areas conducive to year-round Zika virus transmission”, the researchers wrote in their study.
The Zika virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. While the disease is not endemic in Australia, imported cases of the virus have been reported.
The virus is suspected to cause a rare brain defect in babies, known as microcephaly, which causes abnormally small heads, leading to severe developmental issues, brain damage and sometimes death.
Health officials sounded the alarm in October, after noticing a spike in cases of microcephaly in tandem with the Zika outbreak.
Across the Atlantic, countries stretching from West Africa to the Congo – already home to a multitude of mosquito-carried illnesses – have been hit by Zika virus as well. In particular, women were urged to prevent mosquito bites, including by wearing long sleeves and trousers, and applying insect repellent.
To guard against a virus linked to birth abnormalities, Brazil’s Olympic and Paralympic venues will be inspected daily during the 2016 Games in Rio Janeiro, games spokesman Phil Wilkinson said Sunday.
While the agency can not provide a complete breakdown of these cases, since states have to authorize releasing that information, it has confirmed that the number of cases is from 2015 to date, and that confirmed cases are in Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Texas.
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“If you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant, if you can avoid travel to the current at-risk countries that would be the wisest precaution”, he said.
