The virus is being blamed for a steep rise in birth defects in Brazil.
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“If you have been travelling in places Zika virus is present we will ask you not to donate right away after travelling”, said Dr. Dana Devine, chief medical officer from Canadian Blood Services.
One WHO scientist said the Americas could see up to 4 million cases of Zika in the next year.
Zika virus is also being linked to birth defects such as microcephaly, a condition that causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads.
“The possible links, only recently suspected, have rapidly changed the risk profile of Zika, from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions”, she said.
“Last year, the virus was detected in the Americas, where it is now spreading explosively”. State health officials are actively working with local health departments to make sure providers have as much information as possible.
“We know that a few babies with this malformation tested positive for the Zika virus”, he said. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is a close cousin of dengue and chikungunya and causes mild fever, rash and red eyes.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has issued a warning about traveling to 13 South American countries, especially women who are pregnant.
Travel experts say this comes at the busiest time of year, when business doubles in the winter months, but there are options for people who were planning to travel but don’t want to take the risk.
USA health officials said the United States has two potential candidates for a Zika vaccine and may begin human clinical trials by the end of this year, but there will not be a widely available vaccine for several years.
Researchers are also investigating how the virus might be linked to microcephaly, Schuchat said. Dr. Carmen Beamon, director of maternal-fetal medicine at WakeMed, says soon-to-be mothers need to be aware of the virus and its side-effects. Air Canada and Air Transat say customers will have to provide a doctor’s note about their unsuitability for travel to countries caught in the Zika outbreak while WestJet says it will change bookings without demanding customers prove a pregnancy. Pregnant women who have planned “babymoon” vacations to the region have altered plans, and business conferences have been cancelled.
“We encourage, particularly pregnant women, or those who are considering pregnancy, to consider postponing travel to the countries that are affected”, Philpott said.
The World Health Organization says China and other countries with dengue fever should be on the lookout for Zika virus infections.
In a Twitter message, Rousseff said that “we must declare war on the Aedes aegypti mosquito” and pursue an operation aimed at breeding grounds for the insect until a vaccine is developed.
At the executive board meeting and press briefing that followed, regional health officials made some rough case estimates, based on adapted dengue virus modeling.
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That could be hard because of the El Nino weather pattern, Chan said, which will bring unusually heavy rains, creating puddles and pools where the bugs can breed. Cooler weather tends to cut down mosquito populations.
