Following reports of an imported Zika virus case from Suriname last week, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reports in their latest epidemiologic map that French Guiana is the 12th country to report autochthonous, or locally acquired Zika virus infection.

French Guiana/CIA
French Guiana/CIA

Including Easter Island last year, this is the 13th country to report the mosquito borne viral disease.

On Dec. 18, the Institut Pasteur in French Guiana announced confirming the first imported case in the country. This case was imported from the neighboring Suriname where the Institut Pasteur in French Guiana virology laboratory already confirmed last month the first case of Zika virus infection.

To date, the following countries have reported locally acquired Zika infection in the Americas:

  • Brazil
  • Colombia
  • Chile (Eastern Island)
  • El Salvador
  • French Guiana
  • Guatemala
  • Honduras
  • Martinique
  • Mexico
  • Panama
  • Paraguay
  • Suriname
  • Venezuela

Zika fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by Zika virus (ZIKV), consisting of mild fever, rash (mostly maculo-papular), headaches, arthralgia, myalgia, asthenia, and non-purulent conjunctivitis, occurring about three to twelve days after the mosquito vector bite. One out of four people may not develop symptoms, but in those who are affected the disease is usually mild with symptoms that can last between two and seven days. Its clinical manifestation is often similar to dengue, also a mosquito-borne illness.