New Zika case reported in northern Negev

Victim in ‘advanced state of recovery,’ apparently bitten by infected mosquito overseas; local council urges residents to take precautions

By Sue Surkes

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12 September 2016, 9:16 pm

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Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter

A new case of the mosquito-borne virus Zika, which is causing thousands of fetal deformities across the developing world, was announced Monday in Israel’s northern Negev region.

The victim, said to be in an “advanced state of recovery” was apparently bitten by an infected mosquito while overseas, Channel 10 reported.

Eshkol Regional Council announced the latest case in a letter issued Sunday, and asked residents to carry out regular checks that there were no areas of standing water — ideal conditions for mosquitoes to breed — and to use mosquito nets at home, keep doors and windows closed, and use repellent when venturing out of the house, the NRG website reported.

A handful of Zika cases have been recorded in Israel since the beginning of the year, when a 2-year-old girl returning from Columbia became the first official victim.

From December 2015 to April 2016, Health Ministry’s National Center for Zoonotic Viruses tested 145 patients returning to Israel after travel to endemic Zika areas overseas. Ten samples from six patients tested positive for Zika virus — three from Columbia, one from Vietnam, one from the Dominican Republic and another from Mexico.

In August, the Health Ministry advised pregnant women and women planning to get pregnant to avoid travel to southern Florida areas, where Zika virus patients have been reported.

Health workers get ready to spray insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmits the Zika virus, under the bleachers of the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, used for the Archery competition in the 2016 summer games, January 26, 2016. (AP/Leo Correa, File)

Zika is transmitted by the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which also spreads dengue, yellow fever and the chikungunya virus. It is named for the Ugandan forest, where it was first discovered in 1947, and is common in Asia and Africa. It began to spread more widely in May, when an outbreak was reported in Brazil.

Israel’s Health Ministry warns pregnant women to consider canceling trips to countries being swept by the virus, in light of the evidence of a link between Zika and fetal microcephaly.

The condition causes abnormal smallness of the head and incomplete development of the brain.