New Zealand officials say there’ve been nine reported cases in the country in January, eight of them have made a full recovery and one man remains in Waikato Hospital, in a stable condition. Symptoms can include a rash, pink eye, sore muscles and joints, and a fever.
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The incubation period of Zika virus ranges from three to 12 days.
Since Zika was detected in Latin America previous year there has been a surge in babies born with microcephaly, or abnormally small heads.
Alexander’s comments come as Murray (D-Wash.) raised concerns Friday about the health risks from the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects.
How do I treat Zika? There is no vaccine for the Zika virus. The CDC recommends drinking fluids, getting rest and taking acetaminophen medicines, such as Tylenol, to relieve your fever and pain. Aspirin and NSAIDs should be avoided until dengue can be ruled out to reduce the risk of hemorrhage (bleeding). “This is why it is important for the health officials to track infected individuals at early stage, and maintain mosquito control”.
“Although it is possible that persons travelling overseas may contract the virus, the Zika virus does not present a significant public health risk to Canadians”. Before that, the infected mosquitoes were found in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Philpott emphasized that there have been no locally transmitted cases of Zika in Canada. In fact, it’s likely that millions of people in the tropical Americas may have had the virus without knowing.
Its fact sheet on Zika notes only one in four people infected with Zika virus are believed to develop symptoms. They exist everywhere from Argentina to the southern United States. The type of mosquito that carries Zika is called Aedes aegypti, and it is not in Canada.
Air Canada, WestJet, and other airlines have implemented a new refund policies for pregnant women heading to Central and South America.
Health Minister J P Nadda held a high-level meeting to take stock of the situation in view of the recent cases of Zika virus being reported from some countries in the presence of senior officials from the ministry and AIIMS. The agency has not yet decided which areas would be affected by a temporary ban. No vaccine is now available against it, and the best form of prevention is using insect repellent and other means of protection from mosquito bites.
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“Many of these patients won’t have any symptoms”, according to Stephen Colodny, an infectious disease specialist and member of the Allegheny County Medical Society.
