The first cases of the latest Zika virus outbreak were reported in Brazil in May 2015, according to World Health Organization.
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Montana health and travel experts say the best way to avoid being infected by the mosquito borne virus is to not travel to areas with the Zika virus.
US health officials said Tuesday a person in Texas became infected with Zika through sex. The person was not pregnant.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said the mosquito has “re-colonized” Madeira in Portugal and parts of southern Russian Federation and Georgia in recent years after disappearing from the continent in the 20th century.
The virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas, is primarily spread through mosquito bites, but investigators had been exploring the possibility it could be sexually transmitted.
“I would raise caution that any blood used in pregnant women should be tested for the presence of Zika virus”, something that now doesn’t happen, Lipkin said.
Meanwhile, scientists say that the mosquito behind the Zika virus seems to operate like a heat-driven missile of disease.
Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lawrence Loh emphasized the chances of the virus showing up in Peel are low – echoing statements from provincial health officials who have noted the mosquitoes known to transmit the virus are not established in Canada or well-suited to this northern climate. There is no vaccine or medicine available for Zika virus.
However, Monaghan earlier this year presented a paper to the American Meteorological Society’s annual convention that predicts that eventually Aedes aegypti “will move northward in the US due to future warming, which would expose people to the mosquito on a regular seasonal basis in states like Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia and D.C”.
Most often, the virus which is sweeping Latin America causes only mild symptoms – with many people never even realising they have it.
“We do have occasional cases of mosquitos coming in on aircraft, it’s not common and it’s unlikely to come in that way, it’s most likely to come in through some infected person”.
“Now that we know Zika virus can be transmitted through sex, this increases our awareness campaign in educating the public about protecting themselves and others”, said Zachary Thompson, DCHHS director, to NBC. So Zika couldn’t have spread to other people by mosquito. The CDC is trying to figure out if an uptick in cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological disorder, that was reported by the Brazil Ministry of Health is connected to Zika.
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Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and Merck said they were evaluating their technologies and vaccines for their potential to combat Zika.
