Gregory Taylor, told reporters Friday that they are monitoring the Zika virus outbreak affecting 20 countries in South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean.
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Its fact sheet on Zika notes only one in four people infected with Zika virus are believed to develop symptoms.
Initial estimates released by Brazil’s Health Ministry last week reported 3,500 cases of Zika. High risk countries are Brazil, Haiti and Colombia, and countries within South and Central America. No locally transmitted Zika cases from mosquitoes have been reported in the continental US, but cases have been reported in travelers returning from areas where Zika is present. The yellow fever mosquito has spread most Zika cases but in the U.S.is common only in Florida, along the Gulf Coast and in Hawaii. “And secondly, that we’ve got really good border protection around mosquitos and a whole range of other insects”, he said.
The risk to Ontarians is very low, as the mosquitoes known to transmit the virus are not established in Canada and are not well-suited to our climate.
“There is some evidence that mother-to-child transmission may occur, there have been a few reports identifying the possibility of transmission of Zika virus through transfusion of infected blood or possible sexual transmission of Zika virus”. Health officials suspect the infection causes a birth defect called microcephaly, in which a babies’ head is smaller than normal and the brain may not have developed properly. The move is meant to result in better monitoring of the progression of the Zika virus in Germany. There is no vaccine or medication that protects against Zika virus infection.
The mosquito-borne Zika virus only posed a mild threat until a wide number of cases of the illness were recently discovered in Brazil.
Scientists have also gathered preliminary research on the potential spread of Zika virus through sexual intercourse or blood transfusions.
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While health organizations agree that a definitive link hasn’t yet been made, they still recommend pregnant women (and women thinking of becoming pregnant) take precautions when travelling to regions with the virus.
