By Adam Payne From Business Insider

An unconfirmed number of people in Scotland have been diagnosed as having the Zika virus, the Scottish Government has confirmed.

The disease has affected up to 5 people in Scotland, according to the BBC.

The Scottish Government said on Thursday the mosquito which carries the virus has not been found in the UK and there is no immediate risk to public health.

“We can assure the public that Zika does not pose a public health risk in Scotland,” a spokesperson said, “and of the cases identified in the UK a very small number have been found in Scotland.”

“The mosquito that spreads the virus is not found in the UK, and in any case would not be able to establish in Scotland because of our climate. Zika cannot be spread through person-to-person or airborne contact.”

He added: “We have already informed the at-risk groups about the risks and how to protect themselves through Health Protection Scotland’s travel advice. We continue to closely monitor developments in our understanding of the Zika virus as treatments and testing regimes develop.”

The spread of Zika across South America has led to a number of competitors to pull out of this year’s Olympic Games which is set to take place in Brazil later this summer — including title-winning Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy.

The virus has been linked to microcephaly in babies — a condition which leads to stunted brain development and abnormal smallness of the head.

Zika is mainly spread by mosquitos, and human-to-human infection is incredibly rare. Since the epidemic began last year, up to 5,000 cases microcephaly have been recorded in affected regions — including 1,650 in the US.

More than 50 people across the UK have received treatment for the infection, the BBC says.

IMAGE: Zika virus baby Andre Penner/AP

For more on this story go to: http://www.businessinsider.com/zika-virus-scotland-rio-olympics-2016-8

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Zika just reached 2 more Caribbean islands — here’s a map of all the places it has spread so far

By Business Insider From Yahoo Finance

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added the countries of Antigua and Barbuda as well as the UK Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean to the list of countries and territories with local transmission of the Zika virus.

The Zika virus is mainly transmitted by mosquitoes. In the last week, it’s been identified in the US in the Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood, but so far that’s the only area in the continental US with locally-transmitted Zika. Once infected, only about 20% of people ever show symptoms, which most commonly include fever, rash, joint pain, and red eyes.

There is no vaccine or treatment available for the virus.

One reason Zika is troubling is that it is a cause of birth defects, including microcephaly — a condition where the baby’s head is abnormally small — in babies whose mothers have had Zika. The virus has also been linked to a neurological condition called Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Here are all 54 countries and territories where local transmission of the virus has been reported as of August 3 (note: Miami has not been added to this map just yet, although there has been reported Zika virus transmission via mosquito):

IMAGE: Map (Dragan Radovanovic/Business Insider)

For more on this story go to: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/zika-just-reached-2-more-220900869.html

Canada’s latest travel update urges caution when traveling to 21 Caribbean and Latin American countries

From NAN

News Americas, TORONTO, Canada, Weds. Aug. 3, 2016: With the Summer Olympics set to open in two days, the Canadian government has updated its travel advice on Brazil as well as 20 other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

As of August 1, 2016, Canada is warning its nationals to exercise a high degree of caution when travelling to Brazil “due to high crime rates and regular incidents of gang related and other violence in urban areas.”

The Canadian government says crime is a serious problem throughout Brazil and rates of both petty crime and violent crime, including homicide, are highest in urban centers, including Rio de Janeiro (or Rio), São Paulo, Brasilia, Recife and Salvador, and particularly in areas adjacent to impoverished neighborhoods or Favelas.

The statement also warned of mass mob or flash mob robberies (arrastões) that have occurred sporadically on Rio’s city beaches and in other crowded tourist areas.

This type of crime involves a group of thieves (often young children and youth originating from nearby favelas) that swarm an area and snatch valuable items such as cash, jewellery and cell phones.

Meanwhile, the Canadian government is also warning its nationals to also exercise a high degree of caution when travelling to the following additional countries in the Americas because of high incidents of crime as well. They are:

1: Belize
2: Jamaica
3: Guyana
4: Haiti
5: The Bahamas
6: The Dominican Republic
7: Saint Lucia
8: Suriname
9: Trinidad & Tobago
10: Mexico
11: Nicaragua
12: Costa Rica
13: Ecuador
14: El Salvador
15: Colombia
16: Guatemala
17: Honduras
18: Paraguay
19: Peru
20: Venezuela

For more on this story go to: http://www.newsamericasnow.com/canadas-latest-travel-update-urges-caution-when-traveling-to-21-caribbean-and-latin-american-countries/