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It's called Zika virus, and it's moving across much of Brazil and north into Central America, carried by mosquitoes that carry other viruses. This virus you never heard of may be causing birth ...
Even so, cases were reported in 14 states of the country. Mosquito-borne Zika virus is suspected to be the cause of 2,400 possible cases of microcephaly and 29 infant deaths in Brazil in 2015 (of the 2400 or so notified cases in 2015, 2165 were under investigation in December 2015, 134 were confirmed and 102 were ruled out for microcephaly). [114]
Officials concluded infection with the Zika virus is a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other severe brain abnormalities in babies.
An epidemic of Zika fever, caused by Zika virus, began in Brazil and affected other countries in the Americas from April 2015 to November 2016. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the epidemic in November 2016, but noted that the virus still represents "a highly significant and long term problem". [2]
Zika fever (also known as Zika virus disease) is an illness caused by Zika virus. [80] Around 80% of cases are estimated to be asymptomatic, though the accuracy of this figure is hindered by the wide variance in data quality, and figures from different outbreaks can vary significantly. [ 81 ]
WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan told a meeting of the World Health Assembly, 'the world is not prepared to cope.'
The spread of Aedes mosquito-borne Zika virus has been implicated in increasing levels of congenital microcephaly by the International Society for Infectious Diseases and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [47] Zika can spread from a pregnant woman to her fetus. This can result in other severe brain malformations and birth defects.
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