THE Zika virus which has sparked a health emergency in South America has been diagnosed in patients living in Scotland.

A small number of people north of the border have tested positive for the disease – which is being blamed for defects in newborns. The disease has spread rapidly in Brazil in the run-up to the Rio Olympics which begin tomorrow.

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As the virus is mostly passed on by infected mosquitos that are not found in the UK, the Scottish cases do not present a public health risk.

The symptoms, which include itching, fever and muscle pain, also tend to be mild. However, scientists believe the infection can cause birth defects including microcephaly when the baby has a small head and potentially abnormal brain development.

No details about the patients in Scotland have been released, including the exact number of cases.

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A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We can assure the public that Zika does not pose a public health risk in Scotland, and of the cases identified in the UK a very small number have been found in Scotland. The mosquito that spreads the virus is not found in the UK, and in any case would not be able to establish in Scotland because of our climate.”

She stressed that Zika cannot be spread through normal contact between people or airborne contact.

It is understood that samples would have been sent from Scotland to the UK Government’s top secret military testing facility in Porton Down in Wiltshire for the diagnoses to be confirmed.

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Most sufferers do not require hospital treatment, but are instead advised to rest and drink lots of fluids. The symptoms are likely to pass in two to seven days.

Public Health England recently announced that 53 cases of Zika had been confirmed UK wide.

A number of athletes, including golfer Rory McIlroy, have withdrawn from the Rio Games amid fears over the virus.

It has now spread to more than 20 countries with authorities confirming 15 people have caught the infection in Florida after being bitten by mosquitoes in the area.

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Pregnant women have been advised to consider postponing any non-essential travel to affected regions until after their baby is born and other travellers should take all the recommended steps to avoid mosquito bites.

The Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We have already informed the at-risk groups about the risks and how to protect themselves through Health Protection Scotland’s travel advice. We continue to closely monitor developments in our understanding of the Zika virus as treatments and testing regimes develop.”

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Experts have said that the disease can be spread through sexual intercourse.

Devi Sridhar, professor of global public health at the University of Edinburgh Medical School, said: “Given that Zika is sexually transmitted... it is essential that those who have travelled to Zika-affected areas use protection. In most cases, Zika is asymptomatic – meaning the person won’t even know they have Zika. In those who are symptomatic, it’s often confused with the flu given it’s a mild illness in most people – add to that the fact that it can stay in semen for at least 93 days means that it needs to be treated like a sexually transmitted disease. Comparisons are increasingly being made to HIV/AIDS.”

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She said transparency about the identification of cases was important.

Where the number of patients affected by a condition is between one and five public health officials tend not to specify the exact number in order to protect the confidentiality of the individuals.

Scots-born Dr James Logan, a senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and adviser to Team GB on preventing mosquito bites in Brazil, said it was most important to ensure people travelling to affected areas had the right information. He is part of a new campaign called Bug Off which is aiming to save lives by raising awareness of the importance of using insect repellents overseas.

Dr Logan stressed there were no mosquitoes in the UK which could carry Zika. He continued: "We might have a lot of midges in Scotland, but fortunately they do not transmit Zika."

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