Scientists have pronounced that a mosquito-borne virus known as Zika is raising global alarm and should be given a higher priority by international health organisations and policy makers.
Researchers publication in Nature Microbiology Journal on Tuesday in London described the bacterial infection as meliodosis.
It said investigation revealed that it was resistant to a wide range of antibiotics.
Scientists at Britain’s Oxford University at the same time warned that a virus known as Zika, which was carried by mosquitoes, has also caused a major outbreak in Brazil.
It said Zika has the potential of rapid spread to new areas.
Trudie Lang, Professor of Global Health Research at Oxford University, said Zika was first detected in Africa in the 1940s and was unknown in the Americas until 2015.
He said public health officials have now confirmed its presence in Brazil, Panama, Venezuela, El Salvador, Mexico, Suriname, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Guatemala and Paraguay.
Lang said Zika was carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which thrives in tropical climates, and can also carry other diseases such as yellow fever, dengue fever and chikungunya.
He said thousands of people in Brazil have been infected by Zika, while the virus was not thought to kill.
He said: “Health authorities there last year linked it to a surge in babies born with microcephaly, restricted head growth that seriously limits a child’s mental and physical abilities.”
Lang said for now, research had indicated that there was no known treatments and this called for concern.
Reuters/NAN.
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