Toronto Public Health confirms first three cases of Omicron variant in city
The Toronto Public Health (TPH) says three people have tested positive for the highly contagious Zika virus in the city this week.
TPH also says a woman who is pregnant and lives in a rented apartment in the Don Mills neighbourhood tested positive for Zika.
The city says it has received information from the province that two people who travelled to the Dominican Republic and Honduras have been in contact with a confirmed case.
There are no cases of infection or travel-related illness in Canada at this time.
Zika
Zika is a mosquito-borne virus that was first discovered in Uganda in 1947. It is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and can cause the symptoms of dengue.
If a pregnant woman is infected while in the first trimester of pregnancy, the baby can be born with a birth defect called microcephaly. Microcephaly is when the brain is smaller than normal.
The Zika virus is found in over 100 countries and territories. It can also be introduced by infected mosquitoes during travelling.
Earlier this week, WHO declared an international public health emergency as it concerns the continuing spread of Zika.
The World Health Organisation has declared a public health emergency.
A health advisory was also issued by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care on June 16.
The province says residents who were living with someone with Zika-related symptoms have been asked to isolate and call a hotline at 9-1-1 if they show symptoms of the virus.
“We are encouraging anyone that was close to anyone with a confirmed case of Zika virus to consider isolation and getting appropriate medical care,” said the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s statement.
How it is transmitted
The virus travels from human to human via mosquito, where it is delivered in small, water-containing vesicles called Aedes aegypti.
The virus then spreads by mosquito biting someone who has no signs and symptoms and also infects the saliva of other females who bite the host,
