The number of countries and territories in the Americas reporting cases of the mosquito-borne Zika virus rose to 22 on Tuesday, more than double the number a month ago, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).
An outbreak of the virus is affecting large parts of Latin America
and the Caribbean and is likely to spread to all countries in the
Americas except for Canada and Chile, the World Health Organization
(WHO) has said.
The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947 and was unknown in the Americas until 2014.
The disease is usually relatively mild but PAHO, the regional arm
of the WHO, says it may be linked to cases of brain damage in newborn
babies in Brazil.
Here are some facts about Zika:
- The Zika virus is spread to people through the bite of an
infected mosquito, the same mosquito that transmits dengue, chikungunya
and yellow fever. There is no vaccine for Zika.
- The Zika virus is usually relatively mild, with symptoms such as
skin rash, fever, muscle and joint pain, lasting up to seven days. It is
uncommon for people infected with Zika to need hospital treatment.
- In the Americas, there is no evidence that the Zika virus can
cause death, PAHO says, but sporadic cases have been reported of more
serious complications in people with preexisting diseases or conditions,
causing death.
- Researchers in Brazil and WHO say there is growing evidence that
links Zika to microcephaly, a neurological disorder in which babies are
born with smaller-than-normal heads and brains, but information about
the possible transmission of Zika from infected mothers to babies during
pregnancy or childbirth is "very limited", PAHO says.
- In northeast Brazil, there has been a marked increase in cases of
newborn babies with microcephaly. Brazil's health ministry has said the
number of suspected cases of microcephaly in newborns increased by
about 360 in the 10 days to Jan. 16 to 3,893.
- 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.
- Colombia's health ministry says Zika has already infected 13,500
people across the country and there could be as many as 700,000 cases
this year.
- In Colombia, it is estimated that 500 babies will be born with
microcephaly, according to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.
- Colombia's health ministry has advised women to delay becoming
pregnant for six to eight months to avoid possible risks related to the
Zika virus.
- Jamaica has not reported any confirmed cases of Zika, but the
health ministry has recommended women delay becoming pregnant for the
next six to 12 months. El Salvador has advised women to avoid getting
pregnant until 2018.
- Earlier this month, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and
Prevention warned pregnant women to avoid travel to 14 countries and
territories in Latin America and the Caribbean affected by the virus.
- One in four people infected with Zika develop symptoms and many
cases of Zika go undetected, making it difficult to estimate the true
scale of the outbreak in the Americas. PAHO says there are no reliable
estimates of the number of cases in the region. Based on reports from
affected countries, PAHO estimates there are at least 60,000 suspected
cases of Zika, though the real figure is thought to be far higher.
(Sources: World Health Organization (WHO), Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO), Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC),
Colombian Ministry of Health).
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