WHO: Zika Virus 'Spreading Explosively'
Declaring that the Zika virus is "spreading explosively," chief of the World Health Organization announced that it will hold an emergency meeting of independent experts on Monday to decide if the virus outbreak should be declared an international health emergency.
A Virginia resident who traveled outside the United States has tested positive for Zika virus, an emerging mosquito-borne virus, according to Associated Press, citing health official. The virus, which has no vaccines or treatment, has been linked to brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil. (Photo via Gospel Herald)
Virginia Health Commissioner Dr. Marissa Levine said the resident traveled to a country where the Zika virus transmission is ongoing, according to AP.
Levine said this person poses no risk to other residents, because it is not mosquito season in Virginia, AP reported.
Increased cases of Zika virus, an emerging mosquito-borne virus first identified in Uganda in 1947, are being identified in the past week in various continents and geographies, states World Health Organization officials. People catch Zika virus by being bitten by an infected Aedes mosquito, the same type that spreads yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya. Outbreaks of this virus had been circulating through the Americas, Asia and Africa, and now is spreading.
Pregnant women are warned not to travel to areas considered to be high-risk for this infection, as the disease is suspected of causing birth defects. Zika "is not spread directly from person to person," according to official guidance issued by Public Health England.
Aedes mosquitoes are present in all the region's countries except Canada and continental Chile, stated WHO officials said in a statement.
People with Zika virus disease usually have a mild fever, skin rash (exanthema), headaches and conjunctivitis. These symptoms normally last for two to seven days. BCN