Worrying news…
Several people in Northern Ireland have been treated for the Zika virus, one as recently as last week, according to the BBC.
The Public Health Agency confirmed to the BBC that fewer than five people have been treated for the virus in local health trusts.
The Zika virus was declared a global public health emergency by the World Health Organisation.
The disease was originally thought to be localised and fairly harmless, but a large outbreak in Brazil last year caused it to be reconsidered after a noticeable increase in microcephaly. This is a congenital condition associated with incomplete brain development in unborn babies and abnormal smallness of the head.
Currently, there is no known cure or vaccine for the disease which caused numerous athletes, mostly golfers, to withdraw from the Olympics for fear of contracting the virus.
The virus is primarily spread through mosquito bites.
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