New figures out of Brazil show that the number of babies who have been born with abnormally small heads have risen, adding about 393 cases in a week. The reason for this abnormality has been attributed to the Zika virus.
Microcephaly (or the abnormal smallness of the head, a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development) cases have surged to 3,893 cases since October in the largest known outbreak of Zika in Brazil.
The Zika virus is transmitted via the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito- the virulent bugger also spreads dengue and chikungunya.
Five babies have been killed by the virus so far, with another 44 cases under investigation.
The Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Castro had earlier announced a testing kit that would allow the quicker identification of the presence of any one of the three possible viruses spread by the Aedes mosquito, as well as extra funds that would expedite the development of a Zika vaccine “in record time”.
13,500 cases of Zika have been reported in Colombia.
“We are the second country [in Latin America] after Brazil in the number of reported cases,” said Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria.
The first case of a pregnant woman diagnosed with Zika in Bolivia was also reported recently.
“She has not travelled outside the country. This is a home-grown case,” Joaquin Monasterio, director of Health Services for the eastern department of Santa Cruz told the AFP news agency.
The US US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also issued a travel advisory last week. Pregnant women should avoid travel to Brazil and other countries where outbreaks of Zika have been reported.
Countries affected by the alert include Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela and Puerto Rico.
Sources: BBC
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So sad…