U.S. adds more destinations to travel alert over Zika virus

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday added eight destinations to its travel alert over Zika, a mosquito-borne virus believed to cause birth defects.

The added locations where the Zika virus is spreading are Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, Guyana, Cape Verde, and Samoa.

The initial list, released last week, included 14 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean: Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico.

The CDC travel alert urged pregnant women to consider postponing travel to the areas where Zika virus transmission is ongoing.

Researchers have been investigating the possible association between Zika virus infection and microcephaly in infants.

In Brazil, more than 3,500 microcephaly cases have been reported in Brazil since October 2015.

The CDC also said that Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare condition that can lead to muscle weakness and even paralysis, has been reported in patients with probable Zika virus infection in French Polynesia and Brazil and that more research is needed to examine the link.

Zika is transmitted primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito, which also spreads chikungunya, and dengue.

Symptoms include fever, rash, joint pain and red eyes, but severe disease requiring hospitalization is uncommon and case fatality is low.

There is no vaccine or medicine available for the virus. The best way to avoid Zika infection is to prevent mosquito bites. Endit