Later, the White House said Ms Rousseff and President Barack Obama discussed their concerns about the spread of the virus in a telephone conversation.
Advertisement
“For the sake of caution, travel warnings shouldn’t be confined to Brazil and elsewhere in South America, but should apply to all countries where mosquitoes are a problem”, he said.
No cases are confirmed yet.
It has been present in Africa and Asia, and caused alarm after appearing past year in Brazil for the first time, where it is suspected of causing birth defects, specifically microcephaly; a condition where infants are born with an abnormally small scull and brain.
Thailand detected its first Zika case in 2012 and has recorded an average of five cases a year, according to the Ministry of Public Health.
Adewole said in a statement: “The World Health Organisation (WHO) has raised a global alert because the disease has affected about 23 countries in the Americas especially in Latin America”. There have been reports of microcephaly and other poor pregnancy outcomes in babies of mothers who were infected with Zika virus while pregnant.
Health department spokesman Matthew Lipani told Patch Thursday the infected person lives in the northwestern part of Virginia and recently returned from traveling in Central America.
The Zika virus is spreading at an alarming rate. 20% of people who become ill might have fever for a maximum of one week, skin rash, conjunctivitis, joint pain and headache.
In the United States, there are 31 confirmed cases of Zika in 11 states, with all believed to have originated outside the United States. He said Americans should not “get overly panicked” since there have been no transmissions of the disease in the U.S.
But the owner of Richcreek Vacation Center said it doesn’t mean you can’t travel at all.
The Red Cross is now evaluating whether to ask donors to self-defer for 28 days following their return to the USA if they traveled to areas with ongoing Zika outbreaks.
Advertisement
“They don’t have a curent treatment right now so we are waiting to see if they develop anything”, Boukouris said. Women have already been advised to avoid travelling to infected countries if they might be pregnant or are trying for a child.
