The CDC has issued a level 2 travel alert – Practice Enhanced Precautions – regarding the Zika virus due to its potential association with birth defects.
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Health Minister Altagracia Guzman warned on Friday that half a million people in the Dominican Republic could become infected if no preventive measures are taken. These imported cases could result in local spread of the virus in some areas of the country, including Georgia.
There is no specific treatment or vaccine for Zika, which is related to dengue.
Below is a list of the countries with confirmed cases.
The virus has been linked to microcephaly, a condition in newborns marked by abnormally small heads and brains that have not developed properly.
Experts believe the infection may trigger the immune system to attack nerve roots and peripheral nerves. Scientists are studying whether there is a causal link between Zika and these two disorders.
“I saw three cases of microcephaly in one day last August when normally I would see one maybe every three months”, said a Brazilian doctor.
Neighbouring Singapore has not detected any Zika infections but the government said there was a high risk of transmission if cases were imported to Singapore, a regional travel hub. One in five people who get infected will develop symptoms.
Nigeria has begun to closely monitor and screen people at various port of entry, especially for the people with recent travel history to Latin America, the official said, adding no single case has so far been recorded in the West African country.
How widespread is the outbreak in the Americas?
And many airlines are allowing passengers to change bookings to destinations in Central and South America as well as parts of the Caribbean amid concern over the Zika virus. But much of the data in Brazil has not been verified, Aldighieri said.
The Centers for Disease Control this month recommended that pregnant women consider postponing travel to affected areas, and health officials in El Salvador have advised women to delay pregnancy until 2018. “Human to human transmission of Zika virus is rare”.
The Zika virus is found in tropical locales with large mosquito populations. The virus was fist discovered in humans in 1954.
Can Zika be transmitted through sexual contact?
To date no locally transmitted Zika cases have been reported in the continental United States, but cases have been reported in returning travelers.
The PAHO also said Zika can be transmitted through blood, but this is an infrequent transmission mechanism.
What other complications are associated with Zika?
Some 80% of those infected with the Zika virus don’t even feel sick, and most who do have relatively mild symptoms such as a fever, rash, joint pain or pink eye.
Long-term health consequences of Zika infection remain unclear.
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The upcoming supreme court bid will argue that Brazil is responsible for the current Zika outbreak by failing to wipe out the Aedes mosquitoes that carry it, according to the BBC.
