That helps in terms of collecting blood samples and spinal fluid while patients are acutely ill. “There was just a paucity of literature that was out there”. In a recent report on the Zika virus, researchers including several from ESCMID discussed the threat that may be posed to residents in Brazil as well as attendees to the Olympic games.
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Until then, Zika had been something of a sleeper virus.
Sejvar said it is possible that Puerto Rico will not have a large outbreak of Zika, but based on what has happened in Colombia and El Salvador, where the virus has begun spreading and cases of Guillain-Barre have emerged, he said there is a potential that Puerto Rico could have a large outbreak.
“In about 80 percent of cases, you wouldn’t even know you’re infected”, Sperber said. “We could have a pandemic in the Americas with four million people infected by the Zika virus”. And it’s unclear whether the virus is transmitted only by mosquitoes, or perhaps also through sexual contact, as health officials believe occurred in Texas this year. “There are a lot of negatives, and there are a lot of unknowns right now”.
For more information on the Zika Virus in Oregon, visit the Oregon Health Authority.
Those most at risk of infection include anyone living in or traveling to a specific area where the Zika Virus is found. The most up-to-date list of countries and regions of the world where the virus can be found has been published by the CDC and is listed here. If the virus does happen to reach southern Europe, researchers are concerned about countries like France, Spain and Italy, which registered cases of dengue transmission in the past.
The Obama administration has asked Congress for $1.8 billion in emergency funding to fight Zika at home and overseas, including mosquito eradication, study of the microcephaly link and developing a vaccine.
“The risk of getting the virus is through being bitten by a mosquito that would come up here, and they’re not up here”, Sperber said.
But, Duffy said, “There wasn’t any indication at that point about the fetal anomalies or Guillain-Barré syndrome”, a neurological disorder often associated with viral infections.
Colombia has reported more than 22,600 confirmed Zika cases. And a hearing is scheduled to take place Wednesday in Congress, titled “The Global Zika Epidemic” and including testimony from the directors of the CDC and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
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Gov. Rick Scott’s office announced that the conference call is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
