Zika Virus Arrives in Ontario

This virus is not SA acquired, and people should understand that the businessman got it from Colombia which is experiencing a large outbreak of the virus.

First discovered in Uganda in 1947, Zika is spread mainly by the Aedes aegypti, a mosquito that bites mostly in the daytime and is found in every country in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile.

For most people the virus poses little long-term risk. “Zika virus RNA has been identified in breast milk, but attempts to culture the virus have been unsuccessful”, the CDC report said.

He said due to the frequency of travel between South Africa and a number of countries now experiencing outbreaks of the Zika virus, it is likely that other sporadic imported cases will be seen as experienced in a number of other countries. “But, it is not something that is a serious concern for most healthy adults”.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its interim guidelines for healthcare providers who care for infants and children with possible Zika virus infection.

On Friday night, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said a Columbian businessman visiting Johannesburg had been diagnosed with the Zika virus infection by a private Johannesburg pathology laboratory, and a confirmatory test was being carried out by the NICD.

Williams also recommended that pregnant women, and those considering becoming pregnant, should discuss their travel plans with their doctor to assess risks and consider postponing travel to areas where the virus is circulating in the Americas.

The news about the Ontario case comes as insect scientists at Brock University in St. Catharines have received a shipment of the virus to test whether mosquitoes native to Canada could become infected with the pathogen and potentially transmit it to humans.

Department of Health spokesman Joe Maila said, “There is no need to panic in SA when it comes to the Zika virus”.

So far, it’s been linked to a 20-fold increase in a rare defect called microcephaly in babies, in which the newborns are born with irregularly small heads and underdeveloped brains. This week it released a strategic plan to combat the virus and dispelled rumors that microcephaly is caused by vaccines or larvicide.