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Local clinic warns patients about Zika virus

The National Health Institute said the authorities had recorded 20,297 cases of Zika infections, with about 10 per cent occurring in pregnant women.

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Epidemiologist Jussi Sane at the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) told ABC News that a Finnish tourist was infected by the Zika virus after visiting the Maldives last summer.

The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to babies being born with abnormally small brains.

The organisation will meet on Monday to decide whether zika should be treated as a global emergency.

The latest figures make Colombia the second most affected country after Brazil.

No current Zika cases have been reported in the country but in 2012, a 15-year-old boy reportedly was infected in central Cebu city but recovered fully, according to health department spokesman Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy.

He explained the virus causes no more than a mild illness in most people – a majority of 75 per cent people infected with the virus would not display any symptoms at all, while 25 per cent may suffer mild fever and rashes.

Mothers with their children, who have microcephaly, await medical care at the Hospital Oswaldo Cruz, in Recife, Brazil, Jan. 26, 2016. A link has not been confirmed. Officials expect up to 700,000 cases.

State health officials say they’ll closely monitor mosquitoes when the weather warms.

Joseph Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council, said there are four tours now going throughSouth American countries.

On Friday, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff vowed to “win the war” against the virus, but some experts criticized her government’s response and warned the Olympics could fuel the disease’s spread.

Zika is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads dengue fever and the chikungunya virus.

“The leaders agreed on the importance of collaborative efforts to deepen our knowledge, advance research, and accelerate work to develop better vaccines and other technologies to control the virus”, the White House said after Obama’s phone call.

A law professor involved in the anencephaly case and also involved in the Zika petition said early detection of microcephaly and access to contraception are also concerns.

“The virus has a bigger impact on women and I am a bit anxious”, she said.

In Geneva, WHO director-general Dr Margaret Chan noted it had been less than a year since the virus arrived in the Americas. He added, however, that a completed vaccine is several years away.

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At least half of Legacy’s patients come from countries considered high-risk for infection by the CDC, so doctors at Legacy screen anyone who travels there.

WHO Director General Margaret Chan will convene the meeting of the organization’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee