Probably as many as 4 million people are infected with the Zika virus, according to WHO and warns that the infection is still growing. On Monday, February XNUMX, a team of experts to fight the epidemic gathers in Geneva. The virus has already reached Europe. There is an ongoing study of a drug intended to be tested in humans.
The virus causes, among others microcephaly in newborns and the fetus becomes infected from the mother. Therefore, it is especially dangerous for pregnant women and those trying to conceive. Until recently, Zika infections were encountered in Latin America. Then there was a lot of talk about the first Zika-infected newborn born in the USA. A few days ago it turned out that the virus is already in Europe. A young Dane who returned from a trip to Brazil and Mexico was found to be infected with the virus. Until now, the Zika was thought to be transmitted by mosquitoes, but it has also been found that the virus is also transmitted through sexual contact. There is an ongoing study of a drug intended to be tested in humans.
“A Danish tourist who traveled in South and Central America was diagnosed with a Zika virus infection,” the hospital in Aarhus, Denmark’s second largest city, reported late Tuesday evening. The next day, Professor Lars Ostergaard said that a man in his 20s had a fever and suffered from headaches and muscle aches. However, the patient is to leave the hospital soon. According to Ostergaard, the risk of spreading the virus in Denmark is low, as the mosquito species that spreads the Zika virus is not present in the country.
In recent days, there have been reports of the virus being found in European tourists who have been to South America; it is about three British and ten Dutch. Health officials predict that there will likely be more and more such cases in Europe, given the prevalence of the virus in South America and the frequency of travel abroad.
However, the Zika virus should not pose a threat in colder countries. They are not warm enough for the virus-transmitting mosquitoes of the Aedes aegypti species to breed there.
Zika causes fever and rash in some people who are infected. There is no vaccine for it, only symptoms can be treated. The virus was discovered in 1947 in Uganda and takes its name from a forest in that country. Now it is mainly spreading in Latin American countries. In 80 percent In humans, the infection is asymptomatic, which means that many pregnant women do not know if they have become infected. Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, in addition to Zika, also transmit dengue and yellow fever.
In pregnant women, the virus can spread to the fetus, cause birth defects including microcephaly (microcephaly) and kill the baby.
The Zika virus can be transmitted through the blood, but it was also present in semen. According to experts, however, additional evidence is needed to confirm that it is sexually transmitted.
The virus has recently been found in around 20 countries, with the largest outbreaks in Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Panama and Cape Verde. The country most affected is Brazil, where 2015 thousand people have been detected since October 3,9. cases of microcephaly in infants and 49 deaths in infants who had birth defects. The presence of the Zika virus was confirmed in five cases.
Government officials from Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador and Jamaica recently advised women not to get pregnant until more information about the virus can be found out. US authorities warn pregnant women to avoid countries where the Zika virus has been detected.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that the Zika virus was likely to spread to all countries of the Americas except Canada and Chile. WHO recommends that women who intend to travel to areas where the virus is spreading consult a doctor before traveling and on their return home.
A newborn baby infected with a virus transmitted by mosquitoes