Virus Zika : Part one
Zika virus is a mosquito-borne illness that is spread by the Aedes species of mosquito, the mosquito also responsible for the transmission of dengue and chikungunya viruses. Unlike malaria-carrying mosquitos, this species is mostly active during the day and so barrier methods such as mosquito nets are ineffective. These mosquitos can survive in both indoor and outdoor environments. The two known species responsible for Zika transmission are the Aedes albopictus, known as the Asian Tiger mosquito, and the Aedes aegypti species.
In light of a strongly suspected causal relationship, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the Zika virus outbreak constituted a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 1 February 2016.
8 August 2016 update: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued travel warnings for people traveling to areas and certain countries where Zika virus transmission is ongoing. These include:
- Central and South America: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
- Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bonaire, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands
- Oceania: American Samoa, Fiji, Kosrae (Federated States of Micronesia), Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga
- North America: Mexico
- Africa: Cape Verde
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