High risk countries are Brazil, Haiti and Colombia, and countries within South and Central America.
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Health Minister Shri J.P. Naddahas has stressed controlling the spread of Aedes mosquitoes that transmit dengue and the Zika virus and breed in clean water.
In the United States, there are 31 confirmed cases of Zika in 11 states, with all believed to have originated outside the United States.
It said: ” Sexual transmission of Zika virus has been recorded in a limited number of cases, and the risk of sexual transmission of Zika virus is thought to be very low.
“I don’t think (Zika) will threaten the Games, but it will be a source of transmission”, he said.
“The decision to provide a woman with a certificate that she should not travel is at the discretion of her health-care professional”, said Air Canada’s travel advisory.
In fact, the World Health Organization now expects up to 4 million infections in the Americas between now and next January.
Dr. Ray Pontzer, an infectious-disease specialist who practices in Pittsburgh, advised pregnant women who have plans to travel to infected areas to delay or cancel their trip.
The Ministry of Health urged the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) to strengthen its monitoring and detection of suspects infected with Zika virus at a meeting on January 29.
The virus has been linked to a devastating birth defect called microcephaly in which babies are born with abnormally small heads and brains that have not developed properly.
The following year it was discovered in mosquitoes and was eventually isolated from humans in 1954. In a statement, DSHS said all the people diagnosed with Zika traveled to areas where the virus is spreading.
The CDC has issued a travel alert for more than 20 countries including Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela.
Is there a vaccine for Zika virus?
Doctors and other health officials are standing behind the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that pregnant women avoid countries with Zika virus outbreaks. In Brazil, 200,000 troops are traveling to homes to distribute pamphlets offering advice on eradicating mosquitos, while crews are also fumigating areas that will be used for upcoming carnival celebrations and this year’s Olympics.
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While the mosquito that carries Zika is not expected to reach Canada, many research studies suggest there will be an increase of insect-borne diseases in the Arctic for humans and animals, as mosquitoes and ticks enter the North along with warmer temperatures.
