Chile eradicated the Aedes aegypti mosquito species in 1961 on its mainland and the World Health Organization has said it does not expect the Zika virus to spread to the country.
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Six cases of Zika have been diagnosed in OR this year, all among people who traveled to Zika-affected areas. Before previous year, outbreaks of the virus had occurred in parts of Africa, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene employees will spend today getting an education on the Zika virus and the department has already declared next week, April 24 through 30, as Zika Awareness Week, with more cases expected in the U.S.as the weather gets warmer. Researchers just came out with an early estimate for Zika’s R0 in the current outbreak based on data from Colombia, and they’ve guessed it falls between 3 and 6.6.
A second case of Zika virus has been confirmed in MI.
Most people infected with Zika virus won’t even know they have the disease because they won’t have any symptoms.
Zika symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain, or red eyes. Patrick said they are being monitored but so far no one among the seven people, including the pregnant women, has required hospital treatment.
What’s so scary about Zika is that, rarely, it can cause severe complications, including autoimmune disorders.
The Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the children of infected pregnant women, is primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, though it can also be spread through sexual contact. The outbreak was associated with an increase in infant microcephaly, a condition where a baby’s brain ceases to grow properly, resulting in a much smaller head than normal, according to local and national officials. A list of those areas is available at www.cdc.gov/zika/pregnancy/index. “However, Rhode Islanders who are pregnant or are considering becoming pregnant should avoid travel to countries where there is active transmission of the virus”.
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“In Brazil, where the highest numbers of Zika virus are reported in the ongoing epidemic, the coastal cities in the south as well as large areas of the north are identified to have the highest environmental suitability of Zika virus”. “But more importantly, Congress has failed to address a disease that has infected nearly 700 Americans in 40 states, Washington, D.C., and 3 U.S. territories, including more than 65 pregnant women”, the letter read.
