Pregnancy case confirmed in Spain
Spain’s health ministry confirms that a pregnant woman in the north-eastern Catalonia region, who recently returned from Columbia, has the virus, the first case in Europe. Spain has reported seven other cases of the virus.
All are in good health. The diagnosed cases of Zika virus in Spain… don’t risk spreading the virus in our country as they are imported cases.
Brazil: Zika infections from blood transfusions
Brazilian health officials say they have confirmed two cases of transmission of Zika through transfusions of blood from donors. Doctors say genetic testing confirmed that a man who received a blood transfusion using blood from a donor with Zika in March 2015 became infected with the virus, although the patient did not develop symptoms. Earlier, the health department of Campinas, an industrial city near Sao Paulo, said a man with gunshot wounds became infected with Zika after multiple blood transfusions in April 2015 that included blood donated by an infected person.
The two cases can be considered transmission of the virus through blood transfusion, with greater certainty in the first because we did genetic sequencing comparing the virus in the donor and to the virus in the recipient.
Columbia: three deaths linked to nerve disorder
Colombia says three people have died after contracting the Zika virus and developing Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare nerve disorder. The country’s Health Minister says there is a “causal connection” between Zika, the Guillain-Barre disorder and the three deaths. Health Institute says they are investigating a further six deaths for possible links to Zika.
We have confirmed and attributed three deaths to Zika. In this case, the three deaths were preceded by Guillain-Barre syndrome. Other cases (of deaths linked to Zika) are going to emerge. The world is realising that Zika can be deadly. The mortality rate is not very high, but it can be deadly.
Brazil finds Zika virus in urine, saliva
Brazilian scientists says they have detected the presence of the Zika virus in samples of human saliva and urine, a first for Brazil. The samples came from two patients with Zika-like symptoms; one was found to have the virus in urine, the other had Zika in the saliva sample. It remains unclear whether the tiny sample size was enough to produce solid conclusions. Researchers warn that the virus might have the potential to spread through kissing or urine, but are quick to point out that this still remains to be proved. A potential upside to Friday’s revelation could involve developing urine tests as a diagnostic tool. Researcher:
It is something we have to further investigate. We are not yet sure if Zika can be transmitted to others [through saliva or urine].
France curbs blood transfusions
French Health Minister Touraine says travellers coming back from any outbreak zones of the Zika virus will need to wait at least 28 days before giving blood to avoid any risk of transmission, and advises pregnant women to inform the authorities if they had travelled to any of the zones. Eighteen cases have been reported in travellers in France.
Obama asks congress for emergency funds
The White House says it will ask Congress for $1.8 billion in emergency funding to combat the Zika virus: $828 million for the CDC to increase research into Zika, monitor the disease, and improve testing programs; $250 million to expand health programs in Puerto Rico, where the virus has already taken hold; $200 million is for vaccine research; $335 million for the US Agency for International Development to support Zika control efforts abroad; and $210 million to establish a new Urgent and Emerging Threat Fund that would build readiness in case other mosquito populations — like the Aedes albopictus — start carrying Zika to new states. President Obama:
The good news is this is not like Ebola, people don’t die of Zika. A lot of people get it and don’t even know that they have it.
U.S. athletes should consider not attending Olympics
Reports say The United States Olympic Committee told U.S. sports federations that athletes and staff concerned for their health over the Zika virus should consider not going to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in August. The message was delivered in a conference call involving USOC officials and leaders of U.S. sport federations in late January, according to two people who participated in the call. Federations were told that:
[No one one should go to Brazil] if they don’t feel comfortable going. Bottom line.
Two U.S. women report miscarriages
The CDC reports that two U.S. women who contracted the Zika virus while traveling out of the country miscarried after returning home, and the virus was found in their placentas. Miscarriages have been also reported in Brazil.