A Quebec woman has recovered from the Zika virus. She is the fourth confirmed case of the disease in Canada.
The director of public health for the province says the woman was recently on vacation in a Central or South American destination when she came down with the disease.
"That person came here, she had some symptoms and was tested. She recovered completely and went back to work," said Dr. Horacio Arruda.
Public health officials in the Americas have become concerned in recent months as more than 4,000 babies born in Brazil in 2015 had a birth defect called microcephaly: their heads are smaller than normal.
"The issue with Zika is related to an association actually that has been discovered in Brazil, of pregnant women who get infected probably in their first trimester," said Dr. Arruda.
"By precaution we recommend that a woman who is pregnant, or who intends to get pregnant, delay their trip to those countries."
Air Canada, WestJet, and other airlines have implemented new refund policies for pregnant women heading to Central and South America.
Researchers believe there is a link between the Zika virus and microcephaly, but say it is also possible that there is an error in record-keeping.
Only 150 babies out of the 3 million born in Brazil in 2014 were recorded as having the defect.
The Centres for Disease Control notes that 2,500 out of the 4 million babies born in the United States in 2014 had microcephaly, and those cases are not linked to the Zika virus.
Zika virus new to the Americas
The virus was first discovered in Uganda in 1947, and over the next several decades was found throughout Africa and Asia.
It was only found outside those continents in 2007 and 2013, when outbreaks were discovered in French Polynesia.
Last year the virus was discovered in Brazil, and in the past eight months has been found in 23 countries in South, Central and North America.
However the Zika virus is unable to spread much throughout parts of the United States and Canada.
The disease is like malaria and West Nile virus: it is only transmitted via mosquito bites, and in the case of the Zika virus, the type of mosquito that transmits it does not live in Canada.
"It's always a good idea to get protected from mosquito bites," said Dr. Arruda.
Health Minister Gaetan Barrette said he doesn't expect the virus will have an impact on the province's health care services because the risk of an outbreak is practically non-existent.
In most people the Zika virus produces no symptoms at all.
About 25 per cent of people develop symptoms such as a rash, fever, joint pain, red eyes, and or a headache within two to ten days of being bitten. They make a full recovery on their own.
The developments of microcephaly appear to be very rare. There is also one documented case of a person contracting Guillain-Barré syndrome, which happened in French Polynesia in 2013.
