A relatively new mosquito-borne virus is prompting worldwide concern because of an alarming connection to a birth disorder and the rapid spread of the virus across the globe, reports CNN.
But although the US Centers for Disease Control says Samoa is the only Pacific nation where the Zika virus has been confirmed, this dangerous virus could already be in Majuro. A visitor who was in Majuro in November, and tested positive for the virus soon after leaving RMI, told a local resident that reviewing when the symptoms began, “I definitely would have caught it in Majuro.”
CNN reports that Zika is considered worse than dengue and Chikungunya, both mosquito borne illnesses. The Zika virus is a flavivirus, part of the same family as yellow fever, West Nile, chikungunya and dengue. Zika is commanding worldwide attention because of an alarming connection between the virus and ‘microcephaly,’ a brain disorder that results in babies being born with abnormally small heads, said CNN. “This causes severe developmental issues and sometimes death.”