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 U.S.
adds four more countries to Zika travel alert list
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[February 02, 2016]
(Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention on Monday added four more countries and
territories to a growing list of places where travelers risk being
infected with Zika, a rapidly spreading mosquito-borne virus.
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 The CDC added American Samoa, Costa Rica, Curacao, and Nicaragua to
a list of 28 other regions, on the day The World Health Organization
declared the virus - linked to thousands of suspected cases of birth
defects in Brazil - an international public health emergency.
The CDC issued its first travel alert last month and has since been
updating the list that cautions people, particularly pregnant women,
from traveling to those areas. (http://1.usa.gov/1JuM6jt)
The Zika virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which
is also known to carry the dengue, yellow fever and Chikungunya
viruses. There is no vaccine or treatment for the virus, which
typically causes mild fevers and rashes. An estimated 80 percent of
those infected suffer no symptoms whatsoever.
Brazil has reported nearly 4,000 suspected cases of microcephaly, in
which infants are born with smaller-than-usual brains.
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(Reporting by Natalie Grover in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
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