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Yesterday report from BBC news. The alarming threat of Zika virus By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News website 21 January 2016 From the section Health The Zika virus, an alarming and disturbing infection that may be linked to thousands of babies being born with underdeveloped brains, is spreading through the Americas. Some areas have declared a state of emergency, doctors have described it as "a pandemic in progress" and some are even advising women in affected countries to delay getting pregnant. Where did Zika come from? Identified in Uganda in 1947, previous outbreaks were confined to a few small areas in Africa, South East Asia and the Pacific Islands. But, in May 2015, it was reported in Brazil. And it has since been reported in: Colombia El Salvador French Guiana Guatemala Haiti Honduras Martinique Mexico Panama Paraguay Puerto Rico Suriname Venezuela How dangerous is it? Deaths are rare and only one in five people infected is thought to develop symptoms. These include: mild fever conjunctivitis (red, sore eyes) headache joint pain a rash There is no vaccine or drug treatment, with patients advised to rest and drink plenty of fluids. But the biggest concern is the impact it could have on babies developing in the womb and the surge in microcephaly. It is when a baby is born with an abnormally small head, as their brain has not developed properly. The severity varies, but it can be deadly if the brain is so underdeveloped that it cannot regulate the functions vital to life. Children that do survive face intellectual disability and development delays. It can be caused by infections such as rubella, substance abuse during pregnancy or genetic abnormalities. Brazil had fewer than 150 cases of microcephaly in the whole of 2014, but there have been about 4,000 since October. The link with Zika has not been confirmed, but some babies who died had the virus in their brain and no other explanation for the surge in microcephaly has been suggested. Detail reports at : http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35370848?ocid=socialflow_facebook&ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbcnews&ns_source=facebook Time to kill the mozzies ....