500 million people in the Americas at risk of Zika infection

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned on May 3 that 500 million people in the Americas are at risk of Zika virus infection.

Pan American Health Organization experts warn that countries that experienced outbreaks of dengue fever and chikungunya fever last year, both transmitted by mosquitoes, are at risk of facing an outbreak of the Zika virus.

Illustration: 500 million people in the Americas are at risk of Zika infection.

Accordingly, medical experts predict that the Zika virus could spread from Central America to Latin America, to northern Argentina and the Caribbean.

To date, 37 countries in the Americas have reported Zika cases, with Brazil among the five countries with the most severe outbreaks. The Zika virus is transmitted through the Aedes mosquito.

The most common symptoms of the virus are fever, conjunctivitis, headache, muscle and joint pain, and rash. In pregnant women, the virus can cause birth defects with microcephaly. There is currently no vaccine to prevent the Zika virus.

The US National Institute of Infectious Diseases announced that it is researching and will put a Zika vaccine into clinical trials next September./.

According to VOV