Zika Virus in The Czech Republic

Zika, the virus that came into the centre of attention lately in many countries, appears to have arrived in the Czech Republic. “There is no reason to panic”, authorities say.

The virus, that causes an infection called “Zika fever”, is feared most of all by pregnant women, since it has been proven that it may cause severe damages to the fetus. In Ecuador, Jamaica, and other South- and Central-American countries, it has already caused a frightening number of miscarriages or malformities (such as microcephaly) of the newborns.

And the virus seems to be spreading around the World. At the beginning of March, it was announced that a third case of Zika infection has been noted in the Czech Republic. The affected person is a 38-year-old Czech tourist, who has recently returned from the Dominican Republic. She was treated in Prague’s hospital Bulovka, and now has already been released to home care, feeling much better. Luckily, she was not pregnant.

According to the authorities, there is no reason to be afraid of contagion in the Czech Republic. They only warn pregnant women from travelling to destinations with high rates of occurrence of the virus.