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SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Public health authorities in El Salvador are seeing an increase in cases of Zika, a mosquito-borne, dengue-like virus that has been linked to malformations in newborn babies.
The assistant minister of health says authorities will increase protective pre-natal monitoring and other measures.
Eduardo Espinoza said Friday that preventive measures to stop the spread of the disease are already being taken, because such measures are the same for Zika and dengue.
Those measures include spraying and eliminating mosquito breeding grounds.
In late November, authorities confirmed three cases of Zika in El Salvador, and after that about 295 suspected cases have been reported.
Scientists in Brazil have linked Zika infections to cases of babies being born with small heads, or microcephaly.
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