Argentina’s Ministry of Health confirmed its first Zika case on Tuesday, according to Clarin, a local newspaper.
The infected person is a 23-year-old Colombian woman living in Argentina’s capital Buenos Aires. She was suspected to be infected with Zika virus after she finished her travel to Columbia. She went to a private hospital to diagnose and her blood sample was then tested in Pergamino Virus Research Center. The confirmation of the first Zika case means that the virus has infected a new country.
Zika virus is a member of the Flaviviridae virus family and the Flavivirus genus. In humans, it initially causes a mild illness known as Zika fever or Zika disease.
Spreading from Africa to Latin America in March 2014, the virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and could lead to microcephaly, a neurological disorder in which infants are born with smaller craniums and brains.
Till Jan. 23, Brazil has registered 4,180 suspected cases of microcephaly, a 7.3 percent rise from the number 3,893 released Jan. 20. Microcephaly has spread to 23 states and 830 towns in federal district in Brazil. (CCTV/Reuters)
