Venezuela says 3 dead from Zika complications
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela has announced the first Zika-related deaths in the South American country.
India launches campaign for deworming millions of children
NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indian children are getting deworming treatment in a massive national campaign to prevent parasitic worms from infecting them and impairing their mental and physical development.
U.S. panel reaffirms depression screening for adolescents
By Andrew M. Seaman (Reuters Health) – Adolescents between 12 and 18 years old in the U.S. should be screened for depression, according to guidelines reaffirmed by a government-backed panel of prevention experts. “From a parent’s perspective, I think it’s important for them to know that depression can be relatively common in adolescence and we have ways to treat it,” said Dr. Alex Krist, a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.
France restricts blood transfusions over Zika virus
Travelers coming back from any outbreak zones of the Zika virus will need to wait at least 28 days before giving blood to avoid any risk of transmission, French Health Minister Marisol Touraine said on Sunday. Zika, which is rapidly spreading through the Americas and has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO), is primarily transmitted through mosquito bites. “Someone who comes from a zone where there is Zika can not give blood for 28 days,” Touraine said in an interview with Europe 1 radio, news channel iTele and Le Monday daily.
Zika found in saliva, urine in Brazil; U.S. offers sex advice
By Pedro Fonseca RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Authorities in Brazil said on Friday Zika has been detected in patients' saliva and urine, adding to the concern over the spread of the virus, while U.S. officials offered new guidance on sex for people returning from Zika-hit regions. Zika, linked to thousands of birth defects in Brazil, is primarily transmitted through mosquito bites, but word surfaced this week of infections through sex and blood transfusions, and news of the presence of the virus in the saliva and urine of two patients prompted new worries. In fact, the president of the Brazilian federal biomedical research institution that made the announcement urged pregnant women not to kiss strangers during the country's free-wheeling Carnival celebrations.
Exclusive: Top U.S. airlines offer to re-assign crew from Zika-hit routes
Top U.S. airlines United and Delta have offered to re-assign certain flight crew concerned about contracting the Zika virus from routes to Latin America and the Caribbean, the companies told Reuters on Wednesday. In an internal memo on Jan. 28, seen by Reuters, United said expectant flight attendants as well as those seeking to become pregnant could switch routes to avoid Zika-affected regions without repercussions. The airline has similar options available for pilots, said Charles Hobart, spokesman for parent United Continental Holdings Inc. Delta Air Lines Inc has also let flight attendants and pilots switch assignments since Jan. 17, and “a small number of crew members have swapped trips to date,” spokesman Morgan Durrant told Reuters.
Dallas County reports first U.S. case of Zika virus
The first U.S. case of the Zika virus has been contracted in Dallas County, local health officials said on Tuesday, adding there are no reports of the virus being locally transmitted by mosquitoes in the Texas county. Dallas County Health and Human Services said the case in Dallas was acquired through sexual transmission, adding that it received confirmation of the infection from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been six confirmed travel-related cases of Zika virus disease, all among residents of Harris County, where Houston is located, the Texas Department of State Health Services said.
War crimes should not be part of any Syria amnesty: U.N. rights boss
Starvation of Syrian civilians is a potential war crime and crime against humanity that should be prosecuted and not covered by any amnesty linked to ending the conflict, the top United Nations human rights official said on Monday. Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, speaking to a news briefing in Geneva as Syria peace talks were being held said: “In the case of Syria, we are there to remind everyone that where there are allegations that reach the threshold of war crimes or crimes against humanity that amnesties are not permissible.” Pointing to the what he said was the starvation of people in the town of Madaya, and the siege of 15 other towns and cities in Syria, he said this was “not just a war crime but a crime against humanity if proven in court.” “We estimate that tens of thousands are held in arbitrary detention and clearly they need to be released,” Zeid added.
Guatemala confirms 105 Zika cases, says more are likely
Guatemalan health officials said Saturday that at least 105 people there had been infected with Zika, the virus suspected of causing grave brain damage in newborns. Health Ministry epidemiologist Judith Garcia told the newspaper Prensa Libre that the 105 confirmed cases emerged from a total of 200 suspected cases, 68 of them from 2015. Zika is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads dengue fever and the chikungunya virus.
WHO says Zika virus spreads explosively, four million cases forecast
By Tom Miles and Stephanie Nebehay GENEVA (Reuters) – The Zika virus, linked to severe birth defects in thousands of babies in Brazil, is “spreading explosively” and could infect as many as 4 million people in the Americas, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. Director-General Margaret Chan told members of the U.N. health agency's executive board the spread of the mosquito-borne disease had gone from a mild threat to one of alarming proportions. “The level of alarm is extremely high,” Chan told the Geneva gathering.