The Latest On Zika: Brazil Isn't Sharing Data

Scientists around the world are frustrated over Brazil's refusal to share data on the country's current Zika outbreak, a policy some say is hindering worldwide collaboration efforts to fight the virus. At the center of the controversy are new policies in Brazil -- signed into law but not yet implemented -- that technically make it illegal for Brazilian researchers to send genetic samples abroad.

The Zika virus, which is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, is strongly suspected to be linked to a new wave of microcephaly cases in Brazil. Babies born with the birth defect have smaller heads and brains that aren't fully developed, which can result in life-long developmental problems.

With the high volume of news about the Zika virus, it's tough to stay up-to-date. Check out our full coverage, or read our daily recaps. Here's the latest information you should know:

1. A patient in Brazil was infected with Zika virus after a blood transfusion

A man in Campinas, Brazil, who was treated for gunshot wounds became ill with Zika virus after multiple blood transfusions in April 2015, Reuters reports. The patient died of his wounds, not of Zika, but the incident prompted health officials to reinforce the mandate that potential donors refrain from donating blood for 30 days after recovering from a Zika infection.

The U.S. Red Cross issued a similar edict, asking donors to delay their donations for 28 days if they have visited a Zika outbreak zone, and to contact the organization if they develop Zika-like symptoms after donating blood.

2. Brazilian law is hampering scientific efforts to link Zika and microcephaly

Brazil's president signed news law last year that regulate how researchers use genetic material, but the framework of these laws has yet to be established. The result: scientists are effectively hamstrung and legally prevented from sharing Zika data with the rest of the world.

As a result, foreign scientists are forced to study samples from pervious Zika outbreaks, such as the 2013 outbreak in French Polynesia, or to rely on voluntary samples from wealthy Brazilian citizens who want a diagnosis. Researchers around the world are frustrated, and for the most part, helpless.

"If countries don't share, the only repercussions they face are public condemnation," Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center on Public Health Law and Human Rights at Georgetown University, told the Associated Press.

3. Mexican health officials downplay Zika's impact on tourism

Mexico's health ministry emphasized that the country's Zika outbreaks are far away from the tourism hubs, but acknowledged that the disease will inevitably spread. At last count, the country had 34 confirmed Zika cases, up from 18 a week prior, and is currently on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's watch list of countries with local transmissions. So far, there haven't been any cases of Zika virus in a pregnant woman in Mexico.

4. Several airlines offer pregnant or expectant flight crews the chance to switch routes

The CDC currently recommends that pregnant women avoid traveling to countries or territories with ongoing Zika transmissions. United, Delta, Lufthansa and Air France offered employees who are or want to become pregnant the chance for reassignment to areas that haven't been affected by Zika virus.

"A small number of crew members have swapped trips to date," Morgan Durrant, a Delta spokesman, told Reuters.

5. Brazilian health workers call off strike to battle Zika

A health workers union that planned to strike for better working conditions called off their efforts so they could continue helping Brazilians in the face of the country's ongoing Zika outbreak, according to the Associated Press. The union members are among the individuals who have been going door-to-door in Brazil eradicating the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries the Zika virus.

Read more Zika virus coverage:

• New Zika Guidelines Will Change How Lots Of American Have Sex

• Don't Know Anything About Zika Virus? Start Here.

• Here's Why We Don't Have A Vaccine For Zika Virus

• Zika Virus Is At Least 50 Years Old. Here's Why You're Only Hearing About It Now.

• A Zika Outbreak In The U.S. Is 'Likely,' CDC Says

• An Illustrated Guide To The Zika Outbreak
  

• Should You Get Tested For Zika Virus? A Flowchart
  

• The Zika Virus Could Force Women To Have Unsafe Abortions
  

• The Zika Virus Could Take A Huge Toll In The Americas

• Hawaii Baby Contracts The First Case Of Zika Virus In The U.S.

• Pregnant Women Shouldn't Travel To Countries With Zika Virus, CDC Says

• 4 Things To Know About Zika's Potential Spread To The U.S.

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