Chinese authorities on Wednesday issued an alert for outbound travellers to guard against the Zika virus, which has spread in some Southeast Asian countries.
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The agency’s panel of experts also recommended more surveillance and research into diagnostics, vaccines, treatments and mosquito control.
The sequencing of the imported case revealed that it was similar to strains now found in South America, which was consistent with the patient’s travel history.
Researchers are considering alternative routes of transmission, as the virus is spreading more quickly than expected. Babies born with the defect have undersized heads and brains.
The situation is similar at Florence Crittenton High School in Denver and New Legacy Charter School in Aurora, two schools that serve pregnant and parenting teens.
President Barack Obama in February asked for $1.9 billion in emergency spending to fight Zika.
Brazil has been the hardest-hit state when it comes to Zika diseases and there were some worries about hosting the Olympics there for this motive.
In an era of high-tech medicine, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Gov. Rick Scott are espousing a simple approach.
The information on Zika continues to build as the epidemic spreads, but the long-term ramifications of the infection are unknown.
But Aude Vazart, a French engineer who gave birth in Singapore last week, told Reuters leaving the island to avoid Zika was “too extreme”. But the Zika virus is not completely gone.
“Use insect repellent. Practice safe sex for the duration of your pregnancy if your partner has been exposed to Zika”, reads the advice for pregnant women on the Singapore Government’s main online portal.
Professor Paul Cosford, medical director at Public Health England, said: “Public Health England is monitoring the worldwide situation closely and the risk to the United Kingdom remains very low”. Two days ago, it was reported that its Zika virus likely came from Southeast Asia and not South America, where there have been thousands of Zika cases reported since it appeared in Brazil previous year. In New York, 701 cases have been reported to the New York State Department of Health, seven in Orange County. The virus’ genetic material was also identified in tears. Mosquitoes that transmit Zika are daytime biters. That includes 596 cases of Zika thought to be contracted by people traveling outside Florida and 56 “non-travel” cases – that is, infections of people who caught Zika near home or work. Transmission occurs when a mosquito bites an infected individual and then that mosquito bites another individual and passes on the infection.
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An anti-Zika virus kit, including a bug net, mosquito repellent, condoms, literature and anti-mosquito dunks.
