A total of 124 cases of the Zika virus have been confirmed in Mexico, 13 of these cases are in pregnant women, said the Directorate General of Epidemiology of the Ministry of Health.
The states that top the list with the most confirmed case numbers are Jalisco with 41 cases, followed by Morelos and Sinaloa with 28 and 25 cases respectively. The trend has changed because during the past seasons the states of Veracruz and Yucatan topped the list with the most cases.
The WHO highlights that infection during pregnancy causes microcephaly (insufficient development of the skull) and other congenital malformations and that it is associated with pregnancy complications, such as premature delivery, spontaneous abortion, and intrauterine death.
Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that was first identified in macaques (Uganda, 1947). Later, in 1952, the virus was identified as a human virus in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.
Disease outbreaks of this virus have been recorded in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific. Rare sporadic human infections were detected in Africa and Asia between the 1960s and 1980s, usually accompanied by mild symptoms.
The estimated incubation period (time elapsed between exposure and the onset of symptoms) of Zika virus is 3 to 14 days. Most infected people are asymptomatic. Symptoms, usually mild and lasting 2 to 7 days, consist of fever, rashes, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise and headache.
