niman Posted February 19, 2016 Report Posted February 19, 2016 Statement from Chief Medical Officer of Health on Zika Virus February 19, 2016 4:30 P.M.Ministry of Health and Long-Term CareToday, Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, issued the following statement:"Ensuring that Ontarians are fully informed about emerging and infectious diseases such as Zika virus is a priority. Together with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Public Health Ontario, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and other national and international partners, our ministry has been monitoring and assessing Zika virus. On Tuesday, Public Health Ontario received positive test results for Zika virus for an individual who had travelled to South America. This is the first confirmed case of Zika virus infection in Ontario..https://news.ontario.ca/mohltc/en/2016/02/joint-statement-from-minister-of-health-and-acting-chief-medical-officer-of-health-on-zika-virus-1.html
niman Posted February 19, 2016 Author Report Posted February 19, 2016 Statement from Chief Medical Officer of Health on Zika Virus February 19, 2016 4:30 P.M.Ministry of Health and Long-Term CareToday, Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, issued the following statement:"Ensuring that Ontarians are fully informed about emerging and infectious diseases such as Zika virus is a priority. Together with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Public Health Ontario, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and other national and international partners, our ministry has been monitoring and assessing Zika virus. On Tuesday, Public Health Ontario received positive test results for Zika virus for an individual who had travelled to South America. This is the first confirmed case of Zika virus infection in Ontario.From the beginning of the outbreak in Central and South America, we have taken steps to ensure our health system and our partners are prepared should a returning traveller be suspected of having the virus. That includes working with the Public Health Agency of Canada to ensure that individuals presenting with symptoms are tested as quickly as possible. We have also been working closely with health professionals and labs in Ontario to ensure that they have the most up to date information about the virus and how to care for individuals concerned about possible exposure.Any individuals who have traveled to countries affected by Zika virus and are concerned that they might have contracted Zika virus should speak with their health-care provider, who can advise them if they need to be tested. Zika testing is currently being performed by Public Health Ontario and the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.The risk to Ontarians remains very low, as the mosquitoes known to transmit the virus are not established in Canada and are not well-suited to our climate. Current evidence suggests that Zika virus is likely to persist and spread in the Americas and the South Pacific. Ontarians travelling to regions affected with Zika virus should protect themselves by taking protective measures to prevent mosquito bites and consult their health care provider before traveling. It is recommended that pregnant women and those considering becoming pregnant discuss their travel plans with their health care provider to assess their risk and consider postponing travel to areas where the Zika virus is circulating in the Americas.The ministry will continue to update Ontarians and health care providers on the status of Zika virus as updates are received from the Public Health Agency of Canada, World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization and U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention."Additional background on the Zika virus:On January 15, 2016, the Public Health Agency of Canada issued a Public Health Notice and aTravel Health Notice concerning Zika virus following confirmed travel-related cases of Zika virus infection in Canada originating from Central and South America. Advice to OntariansOntarians visiting affected areas should protect themselves against Zika virus by taking individual protective measures to prevent mosquito bites, including using insect repellent, protective clothing, mosquito nets, screened doors and windows. There is no vaccine or medication that protects against Zika virus infection.Additional ResourcesMinistry of Health and Long-Term Care: Zika VirusPublic Health Ontario: Zika virus factsheetWorld Health Organization: Zika virus factsheetCentres for Disease Control and Prevention: Zika virus informationMedia ContactsJoanne Woodward FraserMinistry of Health and Long-Term Careontario.ca/health-news416-314-6197
Statement from Chief Medical Officer of Health on Zika Virus February 19, 2016 4:30 P.M.Ministry of Health and Long-Term CareToday, Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, issued the following statement:"Ensuring that Ontarians are fully informed about emerging and infectious diseases such as Zika virus is a priority. Together with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Public Health Ontario, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and other national and international partners, our ministry has been monitoring and assessing Zika virus. On Tuesday, Public Health Ontario received positive test results for Zika virus for an individual who had travelled to South America. This is the first confirmed case of Zika virus infection in Ontario.From the beginning of the outbreak in Central and South America, we have taken steps to ensure our health system and our partners are prepared should a returning traveller be suspected of having the virus. That includes working with the Public Health Agency of Canada to ensure that individuals presenting with symptoms are tested as quickly as possible. We have also been working closely with health professionals and labs in Ontario to ensure that they have the most up to date information about the virus and how to care for individuals concerned about possible exposure.Any individuals who have traveled to countries affected by Zika virus and are concerned that they might have contracted Zika virus should speak with their health-care provider, who can advise them if they need to be tested. Zika testing is currently being performed by Public Health Ontario and the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.The risk to Ontarians remains very low, as the mosquitoes known to transmit the virus are not established in Canada and are not well-suited to our climate. Current evidence suggests that Zika virus is likely to persist and spread in the Americas and the South Pacific. Ontarians travelling to regions affected with Zika virus should protect themselves by taking protective measures to prevent mosquito bites and consult their health care provider before traveling. It is recommended that pregnant women and those considering becoming pregnant discuss their travel plans with their health care provider to assess their risk and consider postponing travel to areas where the Zika virus is circulating in the Americas.The ministry will continue to update Ontarians and health care providers on the status of Zika virus as updates are received from the Public Health Agency of Canada, World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization and U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention."Additional background on the Zika virus:On January 15, 2016, the Public Health Agency of Canada issued a Public Health Notice and aTravel Health Notice concerning Zika virus following confirmed travel-related cases of Zika virus infection in Canada originating from Central and South America. Advice to OntariansOntarians visiting affected areas should protect themselves against Zika virus by taking individual protective measures to prevent mosquito bites, including using insect repellent, protective clothing, mosquito nets, screened doors and windows. There is no vaccine or medication that protects against Zika virus infection.Additional ResourcesMinistry of Health and Long-Term Care: Zika VirusPublic Health Ontario: Zika virus factsheetWorld Health Organization: Zika virus factsheetCentres for Disease Control and Prevention: Zika virus information
niman Posted February 19, 2016 Author Report Posted February 19, 2016 Map update https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en&hl=en&authuser=0&authuser=0&mid=zv94AJqgUct4.kT4qLMXp3SLU
niman Posted February 19, 2016 Author Report Posted February 19, 2016 Ontario confirms its first case of Zika virusIn this Feb. 11, 2016, file photo, Aedes aegypti mosquitoes float in a mosquito cage at a laboratory in Cucuta, Colombia. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / AP-Ricardo Mazalan) 35 35 0The Canadian Press Published Friday, February 19, 2016 4:57PM EST TORONTO -- Ontario's chief medical officer of health says the province has its first confirmed case of Zika virus in a person who had travelled to Colombia.Dr. David Williams says the risk to Ontarians remains "very low, as the mosquitoes known to transmit the virus are not established in Canada and are not well-suited to our climate."There has been an explosion of Zika infections in South and Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean since the first cases began showing up in Brazil last May.RELATED STORIESCan scientists ever prove Zika virus is causing birth defects?Zika virus shipped to Canada, to test native mosquito infectabilityUN: Zika virus will be 'way down' before Rio hosts OlympicsA small number of cases have previously been reported in Canada -- in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec -- in travellers who have returned home infected.Most people who contract the infection have no symptoms, but some experience fever, joint pain, rash and red eyes.However, the virus has been potentially linked in Brazil to more than 4,400 cases of abnormally small heads in infants born to women who may have been infected while pregnant, as well as cases of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological condition that can cause muscle weakness or even partial paralysis.http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/ontario-confirms-its-first-case-of-zika-virus-1.2785395
niman Posted February 20, 2016 Author Report Posted February 20, 2016 Ontario has first confirmed case of ZikaPerson travelled to South America, where there has been an explosion of Zika infections since first cases began showing up in Brazil last May.Share on Facebook HANDOUT / TNSZika virus is primarily spread through mosquitoes.By: Rob Ferguson Queen's Park Bureau, Published on Fri Feb 19 2016Ontario has its first confirmed case of the mosquito-borne Zika virus as the winter vacation season to warmer climes hits high gear.The patient, a woman who is not pregnant and whose identity and condition are not being released for privacy reasons, had recently returned from a trip to Colombia.“On Tuesday, Public Health Ontario received positive test results” for the patient, said Dr. David Williams, the province’s chief medical officer of health.“The risk to Ontarians remains very low, as the mosquitoes known to transmit the virus are not established in Canada and not well suited to our climate,” Williams said in a statement late Friday afternoon.Zika cases have soared in Caribbean countries, Mexico, South and Central America since the first instances were revealed in Brazil last May.As many as 4,400 babies in Brazil have been born with microcephaly, in which babies have abnormally small heads and brains, to women who may have been bitten by mosquitoes carrying the virus.On Feb.1, the World Health Organization a global health emergency over an outbreak of birth defects and neurological disorders linked to the fast-spreading Zika epidemic, in a move that reflects the extraordinary circumstances surrounding a virus that causes no symptoms in the vast majority of cases.The Public Health Agency of Canada issued its first travel notice in mid-January following other confirmed cases of Canadians returning from Central and South America with Zika.Although the Zika virus is not transmitted by the type of mosquitoes in Canada because of its cold climate, Williams and Health Minister Eric Hoskins warned last month that there is “ongoing risk” to Ontarians travelling to affected areas in tropical parts of the Americas and the Caribbean.They urged travellers to “take protective measures to prevent mosquito bites” and said women who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant should consider postponing trips to Zika-prone countries.The news about the Ontario case comes as insect scientists at Brock University in St. Catharines have received a shipment of the virus to test whether mosquitoes native to Canada could become infected with the pathogen and potentially transmit it to humans.Brock is the only university in the country with a high-level containment lab that includes and insectary, allowing the testing to be conducted safely.First discovered in Uganda in 1947, Zika is spread mainly by the Aedes aegypti, a mosquito that bites mostly in the daytime and is found in every country in the Americas except Canada and continental Chile.Until lately, experts thought Zika caused only mild symptoms, including fever, joint pain and rashes with the majority of infected people showing no symptoms at all.Williams urged any Ontarians who have been to Zika-prone areas and are exhibiting similar symptoms to be checked out by a doctor.But the virus has now spread very rapidly to 24 countries and territorites in less than a year and has been associated with an alarming surge in neurological disorders such as microcephaly.The virus has also been linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome, a potentially fatal autoimmune disorder that can cause temporary paralysis, with increased numbers of cases being reported in Brazil, El Salvador, and French Polynesia, which experienced a Zika outbreak in 2013 and 2014.However, it could take months or years to prove whether Zika is directly causing either Guillain-Barré or microcephaly.http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/02/19/ontario-has-first-case-of-zika-virus-in-person-who-travelled-to-colombia.html
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