The virus has caused panic in Brazil since it first appeared there in May. According to the CDC, babies with microcephaly often have smaller head sizes and brains that might not have developed properly.
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Several other viral infections during pregnancy can cause hearing loss, including rubella and cytomegalovirus, or CMV, infections. Symptoms in adults are mild, but the virus can cause severe birth defects if pregnant women are infected, so it is being tracked closely.
Many of Singapore’s five million people are covering up and staying indoors as health experts warn the virus in a tropical climate is hard to contain.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) and National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a joint statement that 24 out of the 26 new cases are linked to the Aljunied Crescent/Sims Drive/Kallang Way/Paya Lebar Way cluster.
The DFA issued the travel advisory following the rising number of cases of Zika infection in Singapore which reached 189 over the weekend.
Given that the virus has been detected in this country, more Zika cases are expected if no precaution measures are taken by the community and the people, said the ministry.
The virus can also be spread through sexual transmission.
India, Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Bangladesh might be most vulnerable to impact due to their limited per capita health resources, the study said. However, the scientists acknowledge that immunity to the virus could already exist in some areas and could reduce the risk.
Heymann, chairman of the World Health Organization advisory committee, said Friday that considerable gaps remain in understanding Zika and the complications it causes – including babies with serious neurological problems – and World Health Organization concluded that the outbreak remains a global emergency.
Authorities said two pregnant women are among those infected since the first locally transmitted case was reported six days ago. The current study adds Zika infection to that list.
Experts and officials say both countries will struggle to contain the virus because of the spread of the Aedes mosquitoes, which also carry dengue, a potentially fatal virus that Singapore and Malaysia have been battling for years.
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Not everyone who gets infected present with symptoms that is why it is important to avoid mosquito bites.
