Zika suspected in 6 deaths in Honduras

Babies born with microcephaly in the Intensive Care Unit at the South Hospital in Choluteca, Honduras on July 28, 2016Six people have died and 10 babies have been born with defects in Honduras in cases feared to have been caused by Zika, the health minister said Tuesday. The fatalities were due to Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a disorder brought on by the immune system attacking the nerves, which can cause paralysis, according to the minister, Edna Yolani Batres. Authorities in the tropical Central American country were conducting campaigns to try to reduce populations of the Aedes aegypti mosquito known to transmit Zika.

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Factbox: Why the Zika virus is causing alarm

Global health officials are racing to better understand the Zika virus behind a major outbreak that began in Brazil last year and has spread to many countries in the Americas. Zika is transmitted to people through the bite of infected female mosquitoes, primarily the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the same type that spreads dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever. The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Aedes mosquitoes are found in all countries in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile, and the virus will likely reach all countries and territories of the region where Aedes mosquitoes are found.
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Zika will not be issue at Olympics: Rio health official

A truck sprays insecticide around Olympic media accomodations in Rio de JaneiroThe risk of Zika virus infections at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro is low and has been overcome, health officials in Brazil said on Sunday, five days before South America&;s first Games are due to begin. Rio de Janeiro&039;s health secretary, Daniel Soranz, said Zika should not deter travelers from coming to the Games, as cases of the virus had dipped significantly in recent months. The mosquito-borne virus has been linked to microcephaly, a birth defect among babies of pregnant mothers infected by Zika, and its discovery in Brazil last year led to concern over the Games, which are expected to attract some 500,000 visitors.

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