Docs Should Ask Pregnant Women About Zika, CDC Says

If a pregnant woman tests positive for Zika virus, she should have an ultrasound every three to four weeks to monitor fetus growth, the CDC said.

The Zika virus has little if any chance of spreading in the USA, the CDC said, largely thanks to the Aedes mosquito’s distaste of cold weather and air-conditioning.

For women who have either of these two signs suggesting microcephaly, doctors may want to follow up with a test of the amniotic fluid to check for signs of Zika infection, but these tests require advanced laboratory capabilities beyond what is available in local hospitals, she said. Officials say that “increasingly strong evidence” points to a link between the virus and fetal brain damage.

There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which causes mild fever and rash. Women who are pregnant, or trying to become pregnant, and who must travel to those areas should consult their doctor, and take strict measures to avoid mosquito bites on their trip.

On Friday, the CDC issued a travel warning for 14 countries and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America where infection with Zika is a risk.

According to FOX News, Brazilian Health Ministry has reported 3,530 cases of microcephaly that is linked with the Zika virus. In Brazil, there’s mounting evidence linking the infection to a birth defect in which the head is smaller than normal and the brain has not developed properly.

A pregnant woman who traveled to these places will have to be tested for the Zika virus as well as for dengue fever and chikungunya.

In Brazil, which is combatting a large outbreak, there has been a significant increase in cases of a birth defect linked to Zika. As the mother had lived in Brazil for a short while in 2015, she had become infected with Zika virus.

For the first time an American mother who had once contracted the Zika virus has given birth to a child with microencephaly, in United States soil, according to CNN.

So the testing is more to gather information for later. The kind of mosquitoes that can carry the virus are found in the southwestern United States.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said at least 26 travelers returning to the US have been diagnosed with Zika since 2007 – all of them believed to have caught it overseas.

The rules include wearing of wearing long-sleeved shirts and long trousers and using insect repellents with diethyltoluamide, ethyl butyl acetylamino propionate, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Officials say the virus is common in regions where mosquitoes are still thriving, including many countries in Central and South America, but IL residents shouldn’t be anxious.