The virus was 1st identified in Uganda in 1947 and was unknown within the Americas until 2014. The illness is typically comparatively delicate but PAHO, the regional arm of the World Health Organization, says it may be linked to cases of brain harm in new born babies in Brazil.
Here are some necessary facts regarding Zika:
1) The Zika virus is spread to individuals through the bite of an infected mosquito, the same mosquito that transmits dengue fever, chikungunya and yellow fever. There’s no vaccine for Zika.
2) The Zika virus is typically relatively mild, with symptoms like skin rash, fever, muscle and joint pain, lasting up to seven days. it’s uncommon for individuals infected with Zika to need hospital treatment.
3) In the Americas, there’s no proof that the Zika virus can cause death, PAHO says, however sporadic cases have been reported of more serious complications in individuals with pre-existing diseases or conditions, causing death.
4) Researchers in Brazil and World Health Organization say there’s growing evidence that links Zika to abnormality, a neurological disorder in which babies are born with smaller-than-normal heads and brains, but information regarding the possible transmission of Zika from infected mothers to babies throughout pregnancy or childbirth is “very limited”, PAHO says.
5) In northeast Brazil, there has been a marked increase in cases of new born babies with microcephaly. Brazil’s health ministry has said the amount of suspected cases of microcephaly in new-borns increased by about 360 in the ten days to January. 16 to 3,893.
6) Brazil has the highest rate of infection, followed by Colombia. Zika outbreaks have also been reported in Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto rico, Suriname and Venezuela, among others.
7) Colombia’s health ministry says Zika has already infected thirteen, 500 individuals across the country and there could be as several as 700,000 cases this year.
8) In Colombia, it’s calculable that five hundred babies are going to be born with abnormality, in line with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.
9) Colombia’s health ministry has suggested ladies to delay becoming pregnant for 6 to eight months to avoid possible risks associated with the Zika virus.
10) Jamaica has not according any confirmed cases of Zika, but the health ministry has suggested ladies delay becoming pregnant for consecutive six to twelve months. El Salvador has suggested ladies to avoid getting pregnant till 2018.
11) Earlier this month, the U.S. Centre for sickness control and prevention warned pregnant ladies to avoid visit fourteen countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean affected by the virus.