The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has officially said that Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly and other birth defects.
Advertisement
Zika has been linked to microcephaly, a birth defect that results in babies born with smaller-than-normal heads.
Another study in Brazil indicated that 30% had some kind of abnormality detected in ultrasounds, said Sonja Rasmussen, director of the CDC’s division of public health information and dissemination.
“There is no longer any doubt that Zika causes microcephaly”, said Thomas R. Frieden, the Center’s director.
Dr Frieden said there was mounting evidence from numerous studies that allowed CDC to reach their conclusion.
CDC also recommends pregnant women to refrain from having sexual relationship with partners that travelled to Zika virus-infected areas.
The virus is spread primarily through mosquito bites but can also be transmitted through sex.
The most commonly seen symptoms of the Zika Virus Disease include fever, joint pain, rash or conjunctivitis (red eyes).
Health authorities project Colombia could see between 95 and 300 cases of microcephaly, and 380 of Guillain-Barre, another Zika-linked disorder that causes the immune system to attack parts of the nervous system that controls muscle strength.
Estafany Perreira holds her nephew David Henrique Ferreira, 5 months, who has microcephaly, on January 25, 2016 in Recife, Brazil.
Zika virus infection could be transmitted through anal sex, claims a recent report that confirmed the first sexually transmitted Zika virus case in Dallas.
Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group is developing a vaccine to protect against Zika virus.
Southern Nevada Health District Chief Health Officer Joseph Iser said he could imagine Clark County seeing dozens of cases by the time summer is over.
Symptoms are usually mild and appear two to seven days after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
Advertisement
According to the CDC, the man who had traveled to Venezuela – where local transmission of the virus had been confirmed since November 2015 – “reported that multiple persons in the area he visited were experiencing symptoms consistent with Zika virus disease”.
