Experts say 80% of Zika patients will have no symptoms

Santo Domingo.- Three specialized medical societies announced that nearly 80% of patients with Zika virus will have no symptoms, and warned that the disease is very dangerous given the effects of genetic malformations in fetuses.

During a panel organized by the Dominican Pediatrics Society, the health experts discussed the latest findings on Zika virus, an emerging disease that in recent months is affecting Latin America and the Caribbean.

The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, or conjunctivitis (red eyes), muscle pain, headache and diarrhea. The incubation period is not known, but is likely to be a few days to a week.

Dominican Pediatrics Society president Dr. Sandra Orsini called for health professionals across the country to have the virus in mind when diagnosing patients who arrive at the emergency room.