COLOMBIA LINKS ZIKA VIRUS TO RARE NERVE DISORDER DEATHS.

Colombia says three people have died after contracting the Zika virus
and developing a rare nerve disorder.

Health Minister Alejandro Gaviria said there was a "causal connection" between Zika, the Guillain-Barre disorder and the three deaths.

Earlier, Brazilian scientists said they had detected for the first time
active samples of Zika in urine and saliva. However, it is not clear whether the virus can be transmitted through bodily fluids.
Zika, a mosquito-borne disease, has been linked to cases of babies born in Brazil with microcephaly - underdeveloped brains.

"We have confirmed and attributed three deaths to Zika," said the
head of Colombia's National Health Institute, Martha Lucia Ospina.
"In this case, the three deaths were preceded by Guillain-Barre
syndrome."

Guillain-Barre is a rare disorder in which the body's immune system
attacks part of the nervous system. It isn't normally fatal.
Ms Ospina said another six deaths were being investigated for possible links to Zika. "Other cases (of deaths linked to Zika) are going to emerge," she said. "The world is realising that Zika can be deadly. The
mortality rate is not very high, but it can be deadly."

Mr Gaviria said one of the fatalities took place in San Andres and the other two in Turbo, in Antioquia department. UK virologist Prof Jonathan Ball, of the University of Nottingham, told
the BBC: "We have been saying Zika has been associated with
Guillain-Barre. One of the complications of that could be respiratory
failure. But it is still probably a very rare event."

Although Zika usually causes mild, flu-like symptoms, it has been
linked to thousands of suspected birth defects. However, it has not
yet been proved that Zika causes either microcephaly or Guillain-
Barre.

The main method of infection is via mosquito bites but scientists in
Brazil say tests on two patients revealed Zika can be found in other
body fluids.

REFERENCE : MEDICAL WORLD NEWS.

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