Dozens contract Zika virus across US — CDC

The most common symptoms of Zika are fevers, rashes, joint pain and conjunctivitis.

Previously confined to Africa and Asia, the Zika virus reached the Americas in 2015, where it is now causing an unprecedented epidemic in Brazil.

The third case of the Zika Virus has been reported in IL.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Friday also included the Zika virus among the group of infectious diseases recognized and monitored as potential health threats.

Nearly 2,000 pregnant women now have the virus, Colombia's National Health Institute said, out of the more than 20,000 people infected across Colombia. While no outbreaks have occurred in the US, 31 Americans have tested positive for the Zika infection, which they contracted while traveling overseas, USA Today reported.

Although there has not been a proven link, the virus is suspected to cause microcephaly, a disorder which causes newborns to be born with abnormally small heads. None are pregnant women.

The NIAID is now pursuing at least two approaches to a Zika vaccine. It can't also be a coincidence that Zika has been around for some 50 years with no reported connection to birth defects of any sort.

Unlike Ebola, Zika does not spread from person to person, has a low mortality, and does not kill healthcare workers, therefore it warrants a different response, said the authors of the commentary.

China is closely cooperating with other countries and the World Health Organization, exchanging medical information and staying briefed on the virus situation to be prepared for any risks, it said.

The number of pregnant women in Colombia infected with the Zika virus has doubled in a week, officials said. The Jamaican Ministry of Health said in a statement a child with the confirmed case of the virus started showing symptoms earlier this month when she returned home from a trip to Texas. That's a real problem though, because they can unknowingly spread the virus to other Aedes mosquitoes and with global travel the disease keeps spreading.