The number of pregnant women infected with the Zika virus in Colombia has risen to 1,911, all of whom now risk having microcephalic babies, the National Health Institute, or INS, said Saturday, adding that a total of 20,297 cases of the disease have been registered in the country.
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In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil.
Physicians who took part in the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) teleconference stressed the real concern is for pregnant women who traveled to Zika-affected areas, found in sections of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
This makes the event a possible springboard for the spread of the virus globally when Olympic visitors return home.
Health officials have worked to raise public awareness about ways to prevent infections, including by using insect repellents and wearing protective clothing. There is no vaccine or treatment.
Brazil is seeing a wave of such birth defects. It has reported about 3,700 cases of microcephaly that are strongly suspected to be related to Zika. About 71 percent of babies born to Zika-infected mothers have developed microcephaly, a neurological disorder that causes abnormally small heads and brains.
The announcement comes after the World Health Organization (WHO) warned this week that the virus is “spreading explosively” across the Americas, predicting three to four million cases this year.
Paulo Gadelha says that the virus’s ability to infect other people through the two body fluids requires further study.
Dion said Canada was scheduled to host that meeting a year ago, but former Prime Minister Stephen Harper canceled it because of tensions with the United States over the proposed cross-border Keystone XL pipeline that Obama eventually rejected, and with Mexico over Canada’s visa requirement for Mexicans. It’s also urging people to destroy mosquito-breeding places.
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This has been confirmed by the Ministry of Health and also the Secretariat of the Pacific Community Public Health Division. However, there is ongoing risk to Ontarians travelling to regions affected with Zika virus. An infected mosquito can then spread the virus to other people.
