“This study can not determine whether the Zika virus identified in these two cases was the cause of microcephaly in the babies”. Pregnant women are at risk if their unborn babies are exposed to the virus, which can lead to birth defects.
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Professor Jimmy Whitworth from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says that while the research can not prove the link between microcephaly and Zika, it “does strengthen the body of evidence that Zika virus is the cause of fetal microcephaly in Brazil”.
Brazil is investigating the potential link between Zika infections and more than 4,300 suspected cases of microcephaly, a condition marked by abnormally small head size that can result in developmental problems.
In the absence of a vaccine against Zika, Brazil is mounting a huge operation to eradicate the mosquito responsible for carrying the virus.
Rep. Smith cited Brazil’s ambassador to the United States, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, who said that microcephaly in newborns can be caused by “a number of other diseases”.
One of the cases has been confirmed in Alberta, and another two in B.C. that were contracted in El Salvador and Colombia, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease control.
Travelers returning from countries with ongoing Zika transmission should also take special precautions in MS to avoid mosquito bites, which might transmit the virus to local mosquitoes.
Director-General Margaret Chan will travel to Brazil from February 22-24 to review Zika-related measures supported by WHO and will meet the health minister, a WHO spokeswoman said.
Officials in Oakland County are making plans to trap mosquitoes that may be carrying the Zika virus.
Chile’s health ministry is meanwhile reporting 10 new cases of dengue on Easter Island.
The government originally predicted between 500 and 600 cases of Zika-linked microcephaly this year, five times more than normally registered annually, but is now reconsidering.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found.
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Genetic analysis of this fluid confirmed the presence of Zika virus – discounting similar viruses that may have been responsible.
