Zika is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, also known to carry yellow fever, dengue and chikungunya viruses. Zika Fever, a mosquito-borne virus from Africa has a link to a high incidence of birth defects confirmed the Brazilian health ministry. The ministry said doctors had found Zika virus in the blood and tissue of a baby with micro-encephalitis — an inflammation of the brain contracted in the first months of pregnancy, in the north-eastern state of Ceara.
It has recorded for the first time in the world with two adult deaths and 739 cases of the disease. The cases were reported in the north-east of Brazil and rapidly appeared in the south-east, in Rio and Sao Paulo. The virus was first detected in Brazil in April and has spread rapidly to 18 states.
The ministry said Zika had become a serious risk to public health and that Brazil must control the Aedes aegypti mosquito to prevent the virus’s spread.
A World Health Organization team arrives in Brazil next week.
