Brazil launches nationwide operation to eliminate mosquito

The connection between Zika and microcephaly has not yet been definitely established, but growing evidence suggests infections with the virus during pregnancy are associated with microcephaly.

“We just stayed in with some precautions”, Andressa said.

The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947. According to the World Health Organization, Zika is “spreading explosively” across the region, putting up to 4 million people across the Americas at risk.

Although the time of exposure to onset of symptoms (incubation period) is yet unclear for Zika virus, experts have said it is likely to be a few days. “If a symptom appears, they must see a doctor immediately”, he said, as he stressed the need for the government to provide support to migrant Filipino workers who might be infected by the virus. It spread eastward across the Pacific Ocean to French Polynesia, then to Easter Island and in 2015 to Central America, and the Caribbean.

“Because it is not mosquito season in Virginia, this individual with Zika virus infection poses no risk to other Virginians”, said State Health Commissioner Marissa J. Levine, MD, MPH, FAAFP.

While a couple dozen or so Zika cases have been reported nationwide, none so far is believed to have originated here.

The government expects more than 600,000 people to become infected with the Zika virus in Colombia this year, and projects some 500 cases of microcephaly.

The Zika virus outbreak is unlikely to spread quickly to the United States, a top health official said today.

There are several vaccines for Ebola in trial, however, there are not even any prospect vaccines for the Zika Virus.

She said that unless all of society mobilizes to eliminate the pools of stagnant water in which the mosquito breeds, Brazil will lose the war against the insect.

The enemy of mankind is undoubtedly the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

The mosquito-carried virus can result in minor illnesses such as fever and rash, but it can be serious in pregnant women as it has been linked to thousands of microcephaly birth defects characterized by a malformed or smaller head and brain that can result in serious developmental delays.

There is no vaccine against Zika, which top USA health authorities described Thursday, January 28 as a “brand new” virus that has expanded swiftly in recent years and been linked to brain damage in babies.

With more than 6000 cases registered in this country alone, the virus is particularly risky to pregnant women, as it could cause devastating birth defects in infants. The agency said it could be many years before a vaccine is available and it might take six to nine months before there’s any data showing a causal relationship between Zika and the babies born with malformed heads.