BRASILIA: Brazil's Health Minister Marcelo Castro said on Monday that the Zika epidemic in his country is worse than believed because in 80 per cent of the cases the infected people have no symptoms.
In an interview with Reuters, Castro said Brazil will start mandatory reporting of cases by local governments next week when most states will have labs equipped to test for Zika, the mosquito-borne virus that has quickly spread through Latin America.
Castro said Brazilian researchers are convinced that Zika is the cause of the 3,700 confirmed and suspected cases of newborns with brain defects in Brazil. He said the virus cannot be transmitted from person to person, only by mosquito.
Brazil will follow the US decision last week to prohibit blood donations from people who have been infected with Zika, he said. The disease, detected for the first time in the Americas in Brazil last year, has no vaccine and no known cure.
In an interview with Reuters, Castro said Brazil will start mandatory reporting of cases by local governments next week when most states will have labs equipped to test for Zika, the mosquito-borne virus that has quickly spread through Latin America.
Castro said Brazilian researchers are convinced that Zika is the cause of the 3,700 confirmed and suspected cases of newborns with brain defects in Brazil. He said the virus cannot be transmitted from person to person, only by mosquito.
© Thomson Reuters 2016
COMMENTS
Advertisement
5 Zika Virus Cases Detected In Bengaluru: Karnataka Health Minister 66 Cases Of Zika Virus Infection Found In Pune City Since June 66 Zika Virus Cases Reported In Pune Since June, Including 26 Pregnant Women 3 Grams Of Explosives Per Pager: Israel's Complex Op To Hurt Hezbollah What Is A Pager And Why Hezbollah Still Relies On This Outdated Device "Wear Proper Undergarments": Delta Airlines' New Memo For Flight Attendants National Cinema Day 2024: Movie Tickets To Cost Just Rs 99 On September 20 Railway Official Loses Rs 9 Lakh Online As Fraudsters Pose As CBI Men Explained: How Instagram's "Teen Accounts" Will Protect Underage Users Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.