Malaysia’s health system has already been stretched thin by dengue fever, which is also spread by the Aedes mosquito and can be fatal.
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The virus has caused panic in Brazil since it first appeared there in May.
Most people who are infected with Zika have mild symptoms but infections in pregnant women have been shown to cause microcephaly – a severe birth defect in which the head and brain are undersized – as well as other brain abnormalities.
Total number of Indians infected with Zika virus in Singapore is now 15.
Of the 26 new cases, 24 were linked to existing clusters while two cases have no known links to any existing cluster, they said.
“To date, there have been no reports of confirmed cases of Zika virus among people who attended the Games, both during the games and since their return”, World Health Organization said in a statement.
Travellers walk past a travel advisory on the Zika virus infection in Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
India, Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, Pakistan, and Bangladesh might be most vulnerable to impact due to their limited per capita health resources, the study said. Over the weekend, Malaysian authorities said they had detected the first local infection: A man in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
One of the most fundamental questions in this current epidemic is why countries such as Brazil, the epicenter of the current epidemic, have reported almost 2,000 cases of microcephaly and other brain abnormalities, while countries such as Colombia, where more than 18,000 pregnant women have been infected since last fall, have reported fewer than three dozen cases.
Malaysian authorities say dengue is a bigger problem than Zika.
India is vulnerable to the risk of zika virus transmissions owing to high travel volumes from the disease affected areas in the Americas, presence of mosquitoes capable of transmitting the virus and limited health resources, a new study today said. “Florida is among the best in the nation when it comes to mosquito surveillance and control, and this detection enables us to continue to effectively target our resources”, commissioner of agriculture Adam H. Putnam said in a statement.
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As no vaccine exists to prevent Zika, doctors urge to prevent mosquito bites with insect repellents.
