Health officials in Colombia announced Saturday that more than 2,000 pregnant women have now been infected with the mosquito-born Zika virus, making Colombia the second hardest-hit country after Brazil, the epicenter of the outbreak. Scientists have yet to prove a relationship between the arrival of the Zika virus in Brazil past year and the sudden increase in birth defects.
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The mosquito that carries Zika virus is found in New England.
There is no cure for the condition, and most babies and children diagnosed with microcephaly will have cognitive issues. Microcephaly refers to abnormally smaller head for newborn babies. One of the samples was negative for Zika and the other two results are pending. The CDC recommends that women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant postpone travel to any area in which the virus is being transmitted.
Zika virus is spread to people through mosquito bites. Instead of high fevers and intense muscular aches that dengue is known to cause, patients were running only slight temperatures and complaining of joint pain.
Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that’s been strongly linked to severe birth defects. She says the Zika virus has been around since the late 1940s, but up until now it was considered just a nuisance virus.
The Zika virus is terrorizing Latin America and the Carribean, and is expected to enter North America.
The outbreak has sparked health warnings and eradication campaigns, with Brazil deploying troops and Colombia launching a mass fumigation campaign to fight mosquitoes.
The threat is not global; the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that for most Americans, Zika is “not something they need to worry about”.
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China is closely cooperating with other countries and the World Health Organization, exchanging medical information and staying briefed on the virus situation to be prepared for any risks, it said. “Although no cases have been detected, it doesn’t mean that one can ignore it. Hospitals are extra vigilant and any suspected cases have to be reported immediately”, he said.
