Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
Health

CDC Expands Tropical Virus Alert; 22 Destinations On List

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 22 Jan, 2016 11:51 AM
    Health authorities have added eight tropical destinations to a travel alert about an illness linked with a severe birth defect and spread by mosquitoes.
     
    The updated alert issued Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brings the total to 22 destinations, most in Latin America and the Caribbean, where there have been outbreaks of the Zika virus.
     
    The new locations are Barbados, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Saint Martin and Guyana; Cape Verde, off the coast of western Africa; and Samoa in the South Pacific.
     
    Last week's alert included Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Suriname and Venezuela.
     
    The CDC says pregnant women should consider postponing trips to these destinations because the virus has been linked with microcephaly. Affected newborns have unusually small heads and abnormal brain development.
     
    All travellers to these areas are advised to take precautions, including using repellent and wearing long sleeves and long pants, to avoid mosquito bites.
     
    Zika illness can cause fever, rash and joint pain but most people infected by mosquito bites don't show symptoms. There's no specific treatment; infected people aren't contagious.
     
    The CDC says people who do develop symptoms should tell their doctors where and when they travelled.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Why Indians At Higher Risk Of Diabetes

    Compared to those in the developed world, middle classes in India and other developing countries are more susceptible to Type-2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases, thanks to their undernourished ancestors, says a study.

    Why Indians At Higher Risk Of Diabetes

    Some SSRIs may raise birth defects risk when taken early in pregnancy: study

    Some SSRIs may raise birth defects risk when taken early in pregnancy: study
    TORONTO — A large new study by U.S. and Canadian researchers suggests the use of some anti-depressant drugs early in pregnancy may be linked to an increased risk of birth defects in the child.

    Some SSRIs may raise birth defects risk when taken early in pregnancy: study

    Why Women Live Longer Than Men?

    Why Women Live Longer Than Men?
    Explaining why women live longer than men across the world, vulnerability to heart disease is the biggest culprit behind a surge in higher death rates for men during the 20th century, says a study.

    Why Women Live Longer Than Men?

    Beware, High Heels May Hurt Your Feet

    Beware, High Heels May Hurt Your Feet
    While high heels may help you put the best fashion foot forward, their prolonged use may be a step backward for the health of your feet, new research says.

    Beware, High Heels May Hurt Your Feet

    Extracurricular Sports Make Kids More Attentive, Finds A Canadian Study

    Extracurricular Sports Make Kids More Attentive, Finds A Canadian Study
    Regular, structured extra-curricular sports help children develop self-regulation and stay focused in the classroom as they grow up, says a study.

    Extracurricular Sports Make Kids More Attentive, Finds A Canadian Study

    'Embrace Yoga For A Super Sex Life'

    'Embrace Yoga For A Super Sex Life'
    While the first International Yoga Day has rightfully positioned the nearly 5,000-year old Indian system of physical and mental rejuvenation on to the global mat, little do people know that there are some postures that, 

    'Embrace Yoga For A Super Sex Life'