World Health Organization Says Zika Virus Could Explode Into A Global Pandemic

As the Zika virus outbreak spreads in Central and South America, pregnant women in Brazil are the focus of concern because the virus could potentially lead to risky birth defects for their newborns. On Thursday, Lavoie said one of those patients was diagnosed in 2013 after having travelled in southeast Asia.

Outside Latin America, the Zika virus has been reported in several European countries.

“The species of mosquito that transmits Zika is rarely found in Boston”, said Dr. Anita Barry, Director of the Infectious Disease Bureau at the Public Health Commission.

Barbosa said for other women in the area, she would advise them to avoid getting pregnant until it was clear that the outbreak was diminishing.

The World Health Organization is warning that there could be 3 to 4 million cases of Zika virus in the Americas over the next year.

Chan said although there was no definitive proof that Zika was responsible for a spike in the number of babies being born with abnormally small heads in Brazil, “the level of alarm is extremely high”.

Zika has been linked to thousands of birth defects in south America but the virus was in other parts of the world before it got there.

Walter Tabachnick, former director of the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, pressed residents to help with the effort by cleaning up their properties and eliminating standing water, where mosquitoes breed. They’re conducting training. On Thursday Ellis joined a meeting of obstetrics and gynecological doctors about Zika risks.

I urge the NIAID to prioritize research regarding the Zika virus. The concern for humans is the correlation between the disease and more babies being born with smaller heads.

Davis has been studying insects for years, and says our best bet is to take precautions against mosquito bites with or without Zika around.

The most recent case was a woman who returned from Colombia in December.

While many people with the Zika virus experience no symptoms, some can catch fevers, experience rashes and joint pains, as well as get red eyes.

Earlier this week, officials in Rio ramped up their fight against the mosquitoes that spread Zika, dispatching a team of fumigators to the Sambadrome, where the city’s Carnival parades will take place next month.

Last week, health authorities in Rome reported that four men had been infected with the Zika virus previous year after coming back to Italy from Brazil, and that they were presently in good condition.

As a physical therapist, Barbosa said she has worked with children with similar birth defects as microcephaly and seen how hard that can be on families.

The mosquito-borne virus is now spreading throughout the Americas, the Daily Mail reports.

The CDC has advised pregnant women to avoid travel to countries where outbreaks are present, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health issued an advisory on the virus last week.