Well, there is some evidence that Zika causes birth defects hence pregnant women have been advised not to travel to various territories where active transmission of the virus has been identified.
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In the last two years, the virus spread across the South Pacific, including Hawaii, South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
“The ICAO is collaborating with the World Health Organization to ensure that the aviation sector play a supporting role in minimizing the risk of spreading the disease internationally and of travelers becoming infected, especially women who may be pregnant”, Hotchkiss said.
For most people, symptoms of Zika are mild and can include fever, joint pain, conjunctivitis or a rash lasting several days. About 80 percent of those infected show no symptoms at all, health officials said.
WHO says it has tapped an emergency contingency fund to pay for Zika response until it collects the necessary funds, which will be distributed among the World Health Organization and other global partners in the fight against the virus. The Brazilian government announced it will direct funds to a biomedical research center to help develop a vaccine against the Zika virus linked to brain damage in babies.
A public health expert, Lawrence Gostin, said the United Nations health agency had “grossly underestimated” the need as the virus, which has spread rapidly across the Americas, will likely spread to many other regions. Brazil is investigating more than 3,900 additional suspected cases of microcephaly.
Natela Menabde, the executive director of the WHO Office in NY, told UN member states during a briefing to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) that Brazil has registered more than 4,700 suspected cases of microcephaly and a quarter were only studied for the moment. It is usually passed on to people through mosquito bites.
There is now no treatment for Zika and much remains unknown about the disease. The virus still confounds blood tests and scientists have been tracking Zika with genetic tests and clinical symptoms.
Due to the climate the mosquitoes that carry and transmit the virus do not live in Canada, says Alberta Health, and human-to-human transmission is rare.
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The health department wants all Kendall County residents to be aware that the risk of Zika virus is low in Kendall County, at this time.
