We’re learning more about a virus health experts across the state say is causing “urgent concerns” for pregnant women. The federal government also will fund increased production of bug repellent, distributing it to lower-income women who are at risk of contracting the virus that’s suspected of causing birth defects.
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The WHO has called a crisis meeting for Monday to determine the worldwide response to Zika, linked to birth defects in babies, saying it’s “spreading explosively”.
The Pan American Health Organization reported the first confirmed Zika virus in Brazil in May 2015.
More than one million people in Brazil were infected and now the disease has spread across South America, showing up in Colombia, Venezuela, El Salvador and nine other countries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “However, a large majority of people who contract the virus are asymptomatic, and in the case where a person feels symptoms, they are usually mild”.
According to the United Nations health agency, the risk of Zika virus-infected travellers entering Europe is increasing.
Photo of mosquito, which can carry the Zika virus.
Venezuela announced plans Thursday to begin a nationwide fumigation campaign, as part of broader efforts to counter the spread of the Zika virus.
A year ago the virus was discovered in Brazil, and in the past eight months has been found in 23 countries in South, Central and North America.
But the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit the virus are not present in Canada because they are not adaptable to the country’s cold climate, Taylor said. Furthermore, for most of those who do happen to find themselves with a Zika infection in our region, the fallout is likely to be low.
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Most people in the USA have access to “air-conditioning or screens”, whereas numerous areas where the virus is spreading have a more “outdoor open air lifestyle” with a denser population, both human and mosquito, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC said at a press conference.
