3 new cases of Zika confirmed in Canada
Maria Lys who was born with microcephaly undergoes physical therapy at a therapy treatment center in Joao Pessoa, Brazil, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2016. (AP / Andre Penner)
Published Thursday, February 25, 2016 4:06PM EST
Last Updated Thursday, February 25, 2016 10:13PM EST
Three new cases of Zika virus have been confirmed in Canada, federal health officials tell CTV News.
The new cases are in Saskatchewan, Ontario and Alberta. Details on age and sex were not provided.
A total of 14 cases of Zika virus have been positively identified in Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada says.
All of those cases are travel-related, the agency says, adding that the mosquitos that carry the virus are not found in Canada.
Ontario’s public health agency confirmed last Friday that one person in that province had tested positive for Zika after traveling to Colombia.
Alberta Health has identified at least four lab-confirmed cases there: one in 2013 and three in 2016.
In late January, the BC Centre for Disease Control confirmed two cases of Zika in British Columbia: one in a person who had been to El Salvador and the other in a person who had traveled to Colombia.
Most of those infected with Zika do not develop symptoms, and those who become ill generally have only a minor fever, rash, eye problems and/or joint pain.
However, the virus has prompted an emergency warning from the World Health Organization, because of mounting evidence in Brazil that the virus is causing thousands of babies born with abnormally small heads, a condition known as Microcephaly.
The risk to Canadians who do not travel to one of 48 infected countries or territories is considered very low. That’s because the type of mosquitoes that spread Zika don’t thrive in Canada, according to Dr. David Williams, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health.
With files from The Canadian Press