Li Dexin, head of the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, made the remarks as the health authority prepared to issue guidelines on Thursday for the treatment and control of the mosquito-borne virus. “Our Department of Health will continue to be in constant communication with all county health offices, hospitals and the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)”.
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The Zika virus is linked to brain deformities in babies and is causing concern among public health officials worldwide.
As the temperature rises, almost everything about the biology of the Aedes aegypti mosquito – the one that carries Zika, dengue fever and other diseases – speeds up when it comes to spreading disease, said entomologist Bill Reisen of the University of California Davis. “Zika is not new – it has been around since the 1950s – but this strain is showing that it can be transmitted from the mother to the developing fetus”, he said.
European countries should start preparing now to protect their populations against the Zika virus, which has never been transmitted in Europe but could spread with the onset of spring and summer, the World Health Organisation said today.
Most of the patients will recover within two to seven days and the fatality rate is very low, the statement said.
However, abstaining from sex as a means of preventing transmission would be pretty pointless, she says-there are so many mosquitos around in the affected countries, everyone is at risk for contracting the disease.
But since October, Brazil has reported 404 confirmed cases of microcephaly – up from 147 in 2014 – plus 3,670 suspected cases.
The Zika epidemic and possible link to microcephaly cases in Brazil prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global emergency on Monday, calling the virus’ rapid spread and its apparent link to the birth defect an “extraordinary event” that poses a threat to the rest of the world.
In a similar fashion, on Tuesday, a man from Texas whose partner had recently returned from Venezuela received the Zika virus from his partner.
While the belief that only a fifth of people who contract Zika become sick may seem like a relatively small contingent, it’s unclear if individuals without symptoms can spread the virus.
About 80 percent of infected humans show no symptoms, but “they could still spread the virus to mosquitoes that bite them”, he added. “However, we need more resources to know the real extent of the problem”.
“Is there a risk of sexual transmission from people who had asymptomatic infection?”
However, Schuchat emphasized that the main health concern at this time is for pregnant women who are exposed to the virus. MOH will also screen people who have come in close contact with those infected.
Brazil said it was sending more than 500,000 personnel out to clean up mosquito breeding grounds and advise people about the disease.
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She said Zika was now present in 26 countries across the Americas.
