Guatemalan health officials on Saturday said that at least 105 people 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 last year. For each confirmed case, Garcia said, there might be three more patients who have not come forward or who are asymptomatic, meaning the ultimate numbers could be much larger.
Zika is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads dengue fever and the chikungunya virus. It provokes flu-like symptoms including a low-grade fever, headaches, joint pain and rashes.
“Guatemala’s humid climate is quite favorable to the virus,” said Garcia.
The WHO warned this week that the virus is “spreading explosively” in the Americas, with 3 million to 4 million cases expected this year.
Hardest-hit so far has been Brazil, with more than 1.5 million cases since April last year. Health authorities there are investigating the possible linkage between Zika and more than 3,400 suspected cases of microcephaly — abnormally small skulls and brains — in babies born to infected mothers.
Colombia announced earlier on Saturday that it has 20,297 cases of Zika infection, including 2,116 in expectant mothers.
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