Colombia: Zika case count now 129

Just weeks after the mosquito borne viral disease, Zika fever, was first reported in Colombia, local media now reports that the total case count in the South American country has reached 129 confirmed cases (computer translated).

Aedes aegypti Image/CDC

Health officials on the Atlantic Coast are expressing concern of the arrival of the virus in the region where nine cases were reported officially in Sincelejo and likely infections reported in the city of Barranquilla.

“The most important thing is that if people have symptoms seek medical advice. The only way to control the growth of mosquitoes is to eliminate breeding sites of homes,” says Alma Solano, secretary of health of Barranquilla.

The virus, transmitted by the Aedes mosquito, the same vector of chikungunya and dengue fever, first appeared in Colombia in Bolivar department recently. “As was the case with chikungunya, Zika virus came to Colombia to stay. This is a disease that was introduced in America via Easter Island in 2014 and later appeared in Brazil this year.  The viruses arrival in the country was imminent,” Deputy Minister of Public Health and Health Services Delivery, Fernando Ruiz said.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus related to yellow fever, dengue, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis viruses; however, ZIKV produces a comparatively mild disease in humans. It was first isolated from an infected rhesus monkey in the Zika Forest of Uganda in 1947.

Until recently, it was relatively rare to see ZIKV outside of Africa and Asia. The virus is transmitted to humans via mosquitoes of the genus Aedes.

Information regarding pathogenesis of ZIKV is scarce but mosquito-borne flaviviruses are thought to replicate initially in dendritic cells near the site of inoculation then spread to lymph nodes and the bloodstream.

Symptoms may include a headache, a maculopapular rash covering the face, neck, trunk, and upper arms,which may spread to the palms and soles. Transient fever, malaise, and back pain may also develop.

Director general the INS, Martha Lucia Ospina notes, “(But) some of those infected have it presented neurological affectations character polyneuritis, among others, in a few cases.”

Robert Herriman is a microbiologist and the Editor-in-Chief of Outbreak News Today and the Executive Editor of The Global Dispatch

Follow @bactiman63

More Outbreak News from Colombia HERE