Meanwhile, governments are continuing to issue health warnings to the public to help raise awareness on how to eliminate or decrease the proliferation of these mosquitoes, and what to do when one has been infected by the virus.
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With the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio this year, the U.S. Olympic Committee is hiring infectious disease specialists to assess the risks to American athletes headed to Brazil.
Organizations including the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and ZonMw – The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development have joined in the signing of the declaration aimed to make Zika research available and free of charge. She was accompanied by Mayor Eduardo Paes and Rio de Janeiro state Gov. Luiz Fernando Pezao. The same day, Health Minister Marcelo Castro said Brazil will partner with researchers from the University of Texas to develop a Zika vaccine that could be ready for test trials within a year.
The Olympic Games are scheduled to run from August 5 to 21 in Rio de Janiero.
Zika is a virus that a person gets from being bitten by an infected mosquito, specifically the Aedes species.
Host city Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo are the most popular destinations for foreign tourists. Prior to Ohio’s new cases, the CDC had reported 52 travel-associated cases of Zika virus in 16 states and the District of Columbia, an increase from 35 cases in 12 states since Tuesday.
“We must all understand that combating the mosquito is a priority”, said Brazilian Army spokesman Col. Gerson Freitas.
“This is not easy and will take a long time”.
The Mirror Online previously reported the virus – which was first thought to be transmitted exclusively by mosquitos – is able to be sexually transmitted and through blood donations. It is the vector.
He said the move is aimed at reducing the local mosquito population, which could transmit the Zika virus to humans. The country has 462 confirmed cases of microcephaly and is investigating another 3,852 suspected cases. But pregnant women are the most vulnerable as they could pass on the virus to their unborn baby and that may cause microcephaly, a condition where the baby’s head is smaller than normal.
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According to the Colombian National Institute of Health, the outbreak has affected 26,542 people and 5,013 pregnant women.
