According to a recent study by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), one of the largest public health research centers in the world, the Zika virus, which caused an epidemic in much of the Americas by the end of 2015, was introduced in Brazil by the immigration of Haitians and a group of Brazilian soldiers who were on humanitarian mission in Haiti, then it spread to other countries

The research was conducted by Pena, Túlio Campos, Gabriel Wallau and Antonio Rezende of FIOCRUZ in Pernambuco, Brazil, in collaboration with Professor Alain Kohl of the University of Glasgow. The analyzes are based on 4,035 genomic samples.

The researchers have discredited previous theories of Zika's path to reach the South American country, such as those claiming that the virus had been brought by African travelers to the 2014 World Cup.

Scientists discovered that the virus, originating from French Polynesia, had moved from there, to Oceania, then to Easter Island, then spread to Central America and the Caribbean. The road coincides with "the path taken by dengue and chikungunya," said one of the researchers, Lindomar Peña.

According to the study, the information gathered is strategic for "epidemiological surveillance and the adoption of control measures" for these diseases, especially in border regions. The results of the study show that the countries of Central America and the Caribbean are important pathways for mosquito-borne viruses (arboviruses).

Another important finding of the study is that there have been several independent entries of Zika virus in Brazil. This contradicts the belief in the scientific community that only one patient brought the virus, which spread throughout the country.

Recall that in February 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an outbreak of Zika virus, transmitted by the mosquito "Aedes aegypti". Its expansion became particularly worrying when the Brazilian health authorities warned that there was a link between the virus and microcephaly, a deformation in the fetuses of pregnant women, which causes the newborn to have a skull size of less than the normal.

According to the latest WHO regional report, the Zika epidemic in Brazil has been brought under control, which has significantly reduced the number of microcephaly cases reported in the country.

See also :

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-18625-icihaiti-health-crusade-of-crh-against-zika.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18522-haiti-health-distribution-of-anti-zika-kits-to-pregnant-women.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-18359-haiti-health-first-case-of-microcephaly-confirmed-in-haiti.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-17949-icihaiti-health-more-than-2-600-confirmed-cases-of-zika-in-6-months.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17876-haiti-flash-birth-of-the-first-haitian-baby-with-microcephaly.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-17563-haiti-health-the-haitian-red-cross-launches-the-anti-zika-operation.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16993-icihaiti-health-since-the-appearance-of-zika-1777-cases-reported.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16705-icihaiti-health-more-than-800-cases-of-zika.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16690-haiti-health-the-usa-are-concerned-about-the-impact-of-zika-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16647-haiti-health-$150m-to-fight-against-zika.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16628-icihaiti-health-a-plan-of-900-000-dollars-to-fight-against-the-zika-virus.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16573-haiti-health-high-increase-in-number-of-cases-of-fever-zika.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16467-haiti-health-zika-detected-in-the-10-departments.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16391-icihaiti-health-zika-virus-increased-regional-cooperation-in-public-health.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16333-haiti-flash-5-cases-officially-confirmed-of-zika-fever-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16202-haiti-notice-early-warning-system-of-suspected-cases-of-the-zika-virus.html

SL/ HaitiLibre