He said just a couple of drops of water in a bottle cap can be a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
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A Colombian businessman visiting the country has been diagnosed by a private Johannesburg pathology laboratory.
The World Health Organization declared an global health emergency on February 1 over the virus, citing concern over a possible link with a rise in cases of microcephaly, a birth defect characterized by an abnormally small head that can result in developmental problems.
The Zika virus – transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito – has spread to at least 32 countries. “The Academy has been working alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to expeditiously identify the risks of Zika disease to infants and children”, said AAP Executive Director/CEO Karen Remley, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., FAAP.
The researchers at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro’s molecular virology lab analyzed the virus taken from the amniotic fluid of pregnant women, and the scientists also isolated the virus in the brains of fetuses with microcephaly who died in Paraiba state in northeastern Brazil right after birth, the agency said. Symptoms of Zika typically include fever, rash, joint pain and conjunctivitis.
Another county has officially been included in a declaration of public health emergency issued by the state of Florida courtesy of the Zika virus.
A hike in microcephaly cases was also registered following a Zika outbreak in French Polynesia three years ago.
It is associated with neurological disorders microcephaly in babies and Guillain-Barre syndrome, which can cause paralysis.
The threat of the Zika virus should be “way down” by the time Brazil hosts the 2016 Olympic Games in August, a leading health official said Friday.
He added that any individuals who have traveled to countries affected by Zika virus and are concerned that they might have contracted it should speak with their health-care provider, who can advise them if they need to be tested. WHO and USA health authorities have recommended that pregnant women postpone traveling to infected areas and their partners use condoms or abstain from sex if they live in or have visited Zika-affected areas.
There is now no vaccine or medication that protects against Zika virus infection.
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Since it appeared in Brazil a year ago, the virus first detected in monkeys in Africa in 1947 has spread to more than 26 countries in the Americas, and to several countries elsewhere.
