More than 270 travel-associated cases of Zika and at least one domestic sexually transmitted case have been reported in the United States.
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The resident from the Queensland state town of Cairns became ill after returning from the Caribbean.
Werner said it was potentially contracted by a woman who had sex with a man who was confirmed to have Zika virus after travelling to an affected country.
“In less than a year, the status of Zika has changed from a mild medical curiosity to a disease with severe public health implications”, said Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO director-general.
They succeeded in piecing together “a very compelling story about both the route and the date of introduction of this virus into the Americas”, said Dr. Ian Lipkin, a prominent infectious disease specialist at New York’s Columbia University. The CDC continues to investigate a potential link to pregnant women who are infected with the virus and an increase in birth defects.
But because of the risk of Zika transmission, it is imperative that workers follow the standard protective procedures, the CDC said.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has sent staff to localities where the tourist had been to carry out Zika prevention measures.
For this study, Pybus’ team sampled several Zika virus genomes linked to the recent Brazilian outbreak – including one from a blood donor, one from a fatal adult case, and one from a newborn baby with congenital malformations and microcephaly. They then compared these sequences with nine other Zika viruses found in Latin America and Asia. The breed of mosquito that is spreading Zika – Aedes Aegypti – has not been detected in MS since the mid-1980s. Zika can also spread from a man to his sexual partners, and there have been reports in Brazil of the disease being spread through blood transfusions. There is now no available treatment or vaccine for the virus.
The World Health Organization now says Zika “is highly likely to be a cause of microcephaly”, as well as other birth defects and the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome that can kill or disable patients for years.
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Health officials recommend using mosquito repellent that contains DEET while you are outdoors, avoiding areas where mosquitoes are prevalent, and wearing loose, light-colored clothing to cover the arms and legs when outdoors during the day or night.
