Authorities in the country confirmed earlier this week that three people have died after contracting the virus.
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An analysis of Zika cases found a 66% increase of Guillain-Barre, a rare nerve disorder that has been linked to the virus, but none of microcephaly, a defect in which babies are born with abnormally small skulls, Santos said.
The government is working across the country to fight mosquitoes by fumigating and helping families rid their homes of stagnant water, the president added.
Meanwhile, in Geneva, spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights was asking governments in Zika-affected countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to repeal any policies that restrict access to sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion. Among them are 3,177 pregnant women.
On Friday, local media reported the first abortion because of the Zika virus.
However, world experts in infectious diseases were quick to reassure people, branding the possibility of transmission through salvia “nigh on impossible”.
Brazil, where the virus is most prevalent, said Zika had been detected in urine and saliva, and officials there and in the United States warned even kissing could potentially spread the disease. There is no vaccine or treatment.
Reuters reported that President Jaun Manuel Santos pointed out, however, that there has been no recorded cases of Zika-linked microcephaly, the birth defect that involves the fetus’ brain.
Colombian Health Minister, Alejandro Gaviria, said: “There is a causal connection between Zika, Guillain-Barre and the death of three Colombians, one in San Andres and another two in Turbo, Antioquia”.
The province of Norte de Santander had almost 5,000 cases of the virus, more than any other in the country, an epidemiological bulletin from the national health institute published on Saturday showed.
An estimated 80% of those who develop the Zika virus do not present with any symptoms – which means the true number of people now infected in Colombia could actually number between 80,000 and 100,000. Of these, 22,612 have been confirmed and 3,033 are only suspected cases.
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Since the latest outbreak of the Zika virus in Brazil last August, the Brazilian government has confirmed 404 cases of microcephaly out of 1,313 potential cases were investigated, according to Frontline.
