Since Brazil reported the first case of local transmission last year, the mosquito-borne disease has spread to 21 countries and territories of the Americas, the World Health Organization said in a statement. (File Photo)
Global health authorities are warning that the Zika virus is predicted to spread through South, Central and North America and will likely reach all countries and territories where the Aedes mosquitoes are found.
Since Brazil reported the first case of local transmission last year, the mosquito-borne disease has spread to 21 countries and territories of the Americas, the World Health Organization said in a statement. At least a dozen cases have been confirmed in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
WHO's regional office for the Americas said there are two main reasons for the "rapid spread."
"The population of the Americas had not previously been exposed to Zika and therefore lacks immunity," the U.N. health agency said in the statement. The WHO added that "Aedes mosquitoes - the main vector for Zika transmission - are present in all the region's countries except Canada and continental Chile."
The Zika virus has ravaged Brazil, which has had more than 1 million cases in the past several months. It is transmitted through the Aedes mosquito and usually causes a mild fever and a skin rash, along with conjunctivitis (or pink eye) and muscle or joint pain, according to the WHO.
However, some babies exposed to the virus have suffered serious brain damage - prompting authorities to act.
Many pregnant women in Brazil now fear there may be a link between the virus and a rare birth condition called microcephaly, which is associated with incomplete brain development. In addition, many also worry about infection from dengue and chikungunya viruses, which are carried by the same mosquito.
Brazilian authorities, with help from the WHO and the CDC, are investigating the possible link between Zika and microcephaly. Although health experts have not established a concrete connection, the CDC has confirmed that the Zika virus was found in two newborns who had microcephaly and later died, as well as in the placentas of two women who miscarried children with microcephaly.
The CDC is now also working with Brazil to study a potential link between the virus and a rare syndrome known as Guillain-Barre, in which the immune system attacks the nerves and can lead to paralysis.
To try to combat the virus, several countries - including Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador and Jamaica - have asked women to postpone their pregnancies when possible. In the United States, the CDC has advised pregnant women to delay their travel to nearly two dozen countries that have been hit with the virus.
The WHO has urged people to help prevent the virus's spread by eliminating mosquitos' breeding sites - such as containers that can collect water - as well as using repellents.
According to WHO-affiliated Pan American Health Organization, to prevent the Zika virus spread:
- Mosquito populations should be reduced and controlled by eliminating breeding sites. Containers that can hold even small amounts of water where mosquitoes can breed, such as buckets, flowerpots or tires, should be emptied, cleaned or covered to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in them. This will also help to control dengue and chikungunya, which are also transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. Other measures include using larvicide to treat standing water.
- All people living in or visiting areas with Aedes mosquitoes should protect themselves from mosquito bites by using insect repellent; wearing clothes (preferably light-colored) that cover as much of the body as possible; using physical barriers such as screens, closed doors and windows; and sleeping under mosquito nets, especially during the day when Aedes mosquitoes are most active.
- Pregnant women should be especially careful to avoid mosquito bites. Although Zika typically causes only mild symptoms, outbreaks in Brazil have coincided with a marked increase in microcephaly - or unusually small head size - in newborns. Women planning to travel to areas where Zika is circulating should consult a health-care provider before traveling and upon return. Women who think they have been exposed to Zika virus should consult with their health-care provider for close monitoring of their pregnancy. Any decision to defer pregnancy is an individual one between a woman, her partner and her health-care provider.
© 2016 The Washington Post