
The U.S. government declared a state of emergency in Puerto Rico on Friday responding to widespread transmission of the Zika virus.
Following his visit to the island territory this week, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy predicted that one fourth of Puerto Rico’s 3.5 million residents will be infected by the end of 2016.
Puerto Rico reported 1,914 new cases in the past week, bringing the total to 10,690 since the first case reported in December. More than 1, 000 of the total cases have been pregnant women.
But experts fear the real number of infections may be higher. As many as eight of 10 people show no symptoms when infected and thus would not go to the doctor. READ MORE OF THIS STORY
SOURCES: VOA News Online