A pregnant woman was among those diagnosed with Zika infections in Singapore, as the number of confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne virus in the city-state rose to 115.
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Although there is no vaccine and scientists don’t yet know how to stop Zika, they foresaw a low risk of the virus spreading at the Olympic Games last month in Brazil, the country hardest hit by the virus, during the winter season there.
The state has so far identified 49 cases of people who contracted the virus locally, the Florida health department says.
Its emergency committee said there needs to be a longer-term plan for responding to the outbreak.
India, Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Bangladesh might be most vulnerable to impact due to their limited per capita health resources, the study said.
According to the California Department of Public Health, the virus can be passed sexually from a person with Zika to his or her partners before, during and after symptoms appear.
He added that their findings could be used to help agencies make necessary public health decisions at local, national and worldwide levels.
But pregnant women, who affected with Zika, give birth to babies with microcephaly, a deformation marked by abnormally small brains and heads.
“Such measures would not be effective because most people who are infected with Zika are asymptomatic and therefore can not be identified during the screening process”.
Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said pregnant women or women wanting to become pregnant should be tired of traveling to Zika prone areas, especially Miami, now that a mosquito has tested positive for the virus.
To figure out where Zika might gain a future foothold, researchers examined patterns of people traveling from infected regions in the Americas to Africa and Asia and combined that with an assessment of local conditions, including mosquito populations.
Salama said that while Zika samples from the country appear to be from the African strain, it hasn’t been determined whether the African strain of the virus might also be responsible for the neurological problems.
Countries differ on the risk posed by various destinations. This assumption might be true and therefore, vigilance is needed.
“While the analysis emphasises the potential for human infection via mosquitoes, sexual transmission of Zika virus infection is now well documented”. The development of protective herd immunity at a young age would also protect pregnant women against fetal complications.
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Open-air food centers in the affected districts of Singapore had few lunchtime patrons Friday, apparently fearful of contracting the mosquito-borne virus.
