The virus is spreading rapidly across the Americas, and on Thursday the World Health Organization forecast that as many as 4 million people in the region may become infected before the epidemic is controlled.
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Professor Edward Holmes from the University of Sydney said the Zika virus had been causing disease sporadically in humans for many decades, including in South-East Asia and Polynesia. There is now no cure for Zika virus.
Zika Virus is transmitted through mosquitoes in South America and Central America, The Caribbean and Mexico, and it is causing major health problems for pregnant women.
Dr. Kurt Barnhart, chairman of the Pennsylvania Section of the American Congress of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, said physicians don’t know how often the virus is transmitted from mother to fetus if the woman is infected while pregnant.
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.
Both the DOH and the CDC recommend that pregnant women review travel warnings and consider avoiding areas with ongoing transmission of the disease. And it wasn’t until November that a Rio de Janeiro laboratory made a link between the virus and microcephaly, which can lead to abnormally small brains in developing babies.
In Thailand, where just one case of Zika has been reported so far this year, the likelihood of Zika spreading was low, officials said, partly because of better access to health care and because Thailand was dealing with a smaller area. The symptoms of Zika include fever, achy joints, a rash and pink eye.
“Right now, the risk of acquiring Zika Virus lies with those people who are traveling to countries where the virus is present”, said Karry Morrison, District Epidemiologist for the Thomas Jefferson Health District. The National Health Institute said the authorities had recorded 20,297 cases of Zika infections, with about 10 per cent occurring in pregnant women.
Zika virus is spread to people through mosquito bites.
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The Department of Health says that this type of mosquito is limited to New York City and the following counties: Nassau, Putnam, Orange, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester.
