Florida officials on Thursday said they have trapped the first mosquitoes that tested positive for the Zika virus in the Miami area, further confirming reports of local USA transmission of the illness.
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Indonesia is among countries most vulnerable to the spread of the Zika virus in Asia and Africa according to a study published Thursday by The Lancet medical journal on its website.
Singapore has confirmed 38 more people have contracted Zika, raising the number infected with the mosquito-born virus to 189.
The study explains that these people live in areas with climatic conditions favorable for mosquitoes that carry the virus.
He said that if the Zika virus were to arrive in these areas, it could deliver a severe blow to their public health systems.
The Zika outbreak comes as Singapore prepares to host the floodlit Formula One Singapore Grand Prix motor-race on September 18.
Malaysia on Saturday confirmed its first locally transmitted case of Zika infection in a man living in the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah.
The Committee was updated on the situation during and after the Olympic Games held in Brazil, Zika’s geographic spread, natural history, epidemiology, microcephaly and other neonatal complications associated with Zika, GBS and current knowledge on sexual transmission of the virus.
World Health Organization officials said studies would continue to figure out why certain regions of Brazil have reported an increase in babies born with microcephaly, a developmental disorder that causes smaller-than-average heads.
They want to find out more about the types of mosquitoes capable of transmitting the virus and whether certain populations developed some form of immunity to the infection following a previous Zika outbreak.
On top of Singapore, the Zika virus has been spreading in other Asian countries. A total of 236 samples were taken, of which 52 tested positive, and 184 were negative.
The patient’s close contacts will also be examined to determine if they have fever or othersymptoms of Zika.
“As the Zika virus epidemic in the Americas intensifies and expands, hundreds, and possibly thousands, of infected travelers are now transporting the virus to distant regions of the world”, the report said.
Health officials advise residents of affected areas and areas of concern in Singapore, especially pregnant women, to monitor their health.
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In Japan, to date, 10 cases of Zika infection had been reported.
