US Declares State of Emergency in Puerto Rico for Zika Virus

August 13, 2016 Cholo Brooks United States 0

FILE - In this May 23, 2016, file photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito sits inside a glass tube at the Fiocruz institute where they have been screening for mosquitos naturally infected with the Zika virus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil./ CREDIT: VOA — FILE – In this May 23, 2016, file photo, an Aedes aegypti mosquito sits inside a glass tube at the Fiocruz institute where they have been screening for mosquitos naturally infected with the Zika virus in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil./ CREDIT: VOA

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

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About Cholo Brooks 13790 Articles

Joel Cholo Brooks is a Liberian journalist who previously worked for several international news outlets including the BBC African Service. He is the CEO of the Global News Network which publishes two local weeklies, The Star and The GNN-Liberia Newspapers. He is a member of the Press Union Of Liberia (PUL) since 1986, and several other international organizations of journalists, and is currently contributing to the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation as Liberia Correspondent.