“The Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) estimates there will be 4 million additional cases of infection from the Zika virus in the Americas region by the end of 2016″.
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Governor Scott called on the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take action to ensure Florida is prepared and stays ahead of the possible spread of the Zika virus. He officially declared a health emergency in four counties today where cases of the disease have already appeared, The Associated Press reports.
A pregnant Spanish woman has been diagnosed with the Zika virus in what is thought to be one of the first cases in Europe.
The issue is that many people who contract Zika virus might not know they have it. Only 1 in 5 people who have Zika develop symptoms, and those symptoms are typically mild: fatigue, aches, pain, and a skin rash. The baby’s mother was diagnosed with having the Zika virus during her pregnancy. One of these victims was a pregnant woman.
The Dallas patient was infected by a person who picked up the virus in Venezuela. But worldwide health officials told the AP they have been hamstrung from doing their own research into the link, as well as potential treatment or vaccines, this despite the World Health Organization declaring the outbreak a global health emergency. New figures from Brazil’s Health Ministry show that the Zika virus outbreak has not caused as many confirmed cases of a rare brain defect as first feared.
The WHO has said that the virus is “strongly suspected” to cause the birth defect microencephaly, in which babies are born with small heads and may suffer debilitating disabilities.
NSW public health authorities confirmed on Tuesday two people have contracted the virus in the state.
US women who are pregnant are being advised to postpone travel to areas where the Zika virus is being transmitted.
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WA Health chief health officer Tarun Weeramanthri said that there was no risk to Western Australians who had not recently travelled to a Zika-affected country.
