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Zika Mosquito Found In Chile: How Safe Are You From Deadly Virus?

By Brian McNeill | Update Date: Apr 21, 2016 06:17 AM EDT

The Zika virus is something that has raised the alarm globally with the disease likely to affect large parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

So far, Brazil has taken a big hit from the Zika virus with countries like Canada and Chile initially believed to be as regions the ones with low probability of the virus spreading.

This was until recently when health authorities reportedly stumbled upon a specimen of the mosquito species which now spurs up the possibility of more carriers appearing.

Chile was believed to have eradicated the Aedes aegypti mosquito species back in 1961 until the recent discovery. The said mosquito was found at a home in Arica located somewhere north of Santiago city in the Atacama desert.

"The mostly likely scenario is that it isn't just one (specimen) because it was captured as an adult and it probably came here in an egg; it's easier to transport that way," Health Undersecretary Jaime Burrows said.

With that said, the search is now on for possibly more larvae as a preventive measure. There are no alarming cases related to the Zika virus so far. The last one associated with the Zika virus was back in March when the first case of Zika was reported but was sexually transmitted.

Related to that report was the possible complications arising in pregnancy. The complication is referred to as microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies.

“We’ve now confirmed what mounting evidence has suggested, affirming our early guidance to pregnant women and their partners to take steps to avoid Zika infection and to health care professionals who are talking to patients every day,” CDC director Tom Frieden said. “We are working to do everything possible to protect the American public.”

Aside from the issues tied up with pregnancy, the WHO bared that the Zika virus could also cause Guillain-Barre which is a rare neurological syndrome tied up to paralysis.

BBC.com recently reported that around 2.2 billion people are living in Zika ‘risk’ areas with the large areas of South America, the focus of the outbreak, seen as critical.

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