Turkey not at risk for Zika, infectious disease expert says

The Zika virus does not pose a serious threat for Turkey due to geographical distance, says the head of the Turkish Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (KLIMIK), Professor Önder Ergönül, while warning that international travel to regions of outbreak risk pregnant women's lives.

According to Professor Ergönül, who is also the chair of the American Hospital's infectious diseases department, the rare presence of Aedes mosquitoes in Turkey has eased concerns amongst medical experts in Turkey.

Aedes mosquitoes cause widespread outbreaks of Zika, a virus thought to have links with birth defects among thousands of newborns particularly in the Americas. These mosquitoes mostly live in tropical and subtropical climates.

Ergönül told DHA in an exclusive interview that Turkish citizens could be infected just like other European travelers who have caught the disease during their visits to critical zones. "The world is smaller now; travelling is easier," he added.

Following fear in South and Central America, people who have travelled to these regions from Denmark, the U.K. and Switzerland have recently caught the virus, increasing global alarm signals.

'Death toll nearly zero'

According to research carried out in Brazil, "The risk of microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with heads that appear shrunken, is 20 times higher for pregnant women who have been infected [with the Zika virus], compared to women who have not," Ergönül said.

However, Ergönül added, "The death toll of the virus is nearly zero and the indicated deaths in [medical] literature are known to have links with other health problems."

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