Hawaii reports first U.S. case of Zika-linked brain damage

The tests, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found a link between the mosquito-borne virus and a rising number of cases in Brazil of microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with undersized brains and skulls, said Lyle Petersen, director of the agency’s division of vector-borne diseases. A previously obscure illness confined to a narrow equatorial belt of countries, it is transmitted by the same mosquito that spreads dengue fever.

The CDC has issued a health advisory for pregnant women against traveling to 14 countries in the Americas to avoid the Zika virus.

If you’re traveling to South America, Central America, or even the Caribbean, there’s a new mosquito-borne virus that has been linked to birth defects and miscarriages.

Zika was reported for the first time in Brazil in May 2015.

According to the Center For Disease Control, about one in five people infected with the Zika virus actually develop the disease and become sick. Zika Virus seems to be the main risk factor for microcephaly.

Although U.S. health officials have refrained from definitively saying that Zika causes microcephaly, scientists have recently gained new evidence linking the two. Travelers and people who live in the affected countries should make the most of available precautions, such as eliminating standing water, staying indoors, wearing long sleeves and long trousers and applying mosquito repellent to avoid bites.

There’s no known vaccine or treatment for Zika, though people who have been infected may have immunity.

The baby was born with microcephaly, a serious birth defect in which a baby is born with an abnormally small head and possible developmental problems.

The alert recommends that women who are pregnant postpone travel to those areas, and that women wanting to become pregnant consult their doctors before setting out on any trip to those areas.

Officials in the country said last week that they were investigating more than 3,500 cases of microcephaly in newborns, reported between October and January. Pregnant women who live in Brazil in areas of the country where there has been a high incidence of the Zika virus have begun advising women to “delay having a child”.

Some of the symptoms of the Zika virus are similar to cold symptoms, like pain in the joints, a rash and what is generally a mild illness with fever.

There’s also a chance that Zika causes Guillain-Barré syndrome, a very rare neurological syndrome that attacks the muscles and can cause paralysis.

We’re familiar with mosquitoes carrying West Nile but now, another virus, known as Zika, is gaining traction.

The Hawaii newborn “further emphasizes the importance of the CDC travel recommendations released today”, Dr. Park said.

Early analysis of these birth defects indicates that women who are infected during their first trimester could be at greater risk for giving birth to an infant with microcephaly or other birth defects, according to the Pan American Health Organization. Infections are occurring in our southern neighbor, Mexico, and the kind of mosquitoes that can carry the virus are found along the southern United States, too.